The major drug laws of India are the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) and the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1988).
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 August 1985. It was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and it was assented by the President on 16 September 1985. It came into force on 14 November 1985 as THE NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES ACT, 1985 (shortened to NDPS Act). Under the NDPS Act, it is illegal for a person to produce/manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
Under one of the provisions of the act, the Narcotics Control Bureau was set up with effect from March 1986. The Act is designed to fulfill India's treaty obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The Act has been amended three times - in 1988, 2001, and most recently in 2014.
The 2014 Amendment recognizes the need for pain relief as an important obligation of the government. It creates a class of medicines called Essential Narcotic Drugs (ENDs). Power for legislation on ENDs has been shifted from the state governments to the central governments so that the whole country now can have a uniform law covering these medicines which are needed for pain relief. [1] [2] [3]
Subsequently, NDPS rules which would be applicable to all states and union territories has been announced by the government of India in May 2015. [4] It also has included 6 drugs namely Morphine, Fentanyl, Methadone, Oxycodone, Codeine and Hydrocodone. [5] According to these rules, there is a single agency - the state drug controller - who can approve recognised medical institutions (RMI) for stocking and dispensing ENDs, without the need for any other licences. The RMIs are obliged to ensure proper documentation and to submit annual consumption statistics to the drug controller of the state.
The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
A proposal to amend the NDPS Act via a Private Member's Bill was announced by Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi MP in November 2016. Dr. Gandhi's bill would legalise marijuana and opium. [6]
The Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act is a drug control law passed in 1988 by the Parliament of India. It was established to enable the full implementation and enforcement of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is the chief law enforcement and intelligence agency of India responsible for fighting drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances. [7] [8] It was created on 17 March 1986 to enable the full implementation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) and fight its violation through the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1988). [8]
Anyone who contravenes the NDPS Act will face punishment based on the quantity of the banned substance.
The following list mentions the names of all substances banned or controlled in India under the NDPS Act. The list uses the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) of the drugs but in some cases mentions drugs by their chemical name. Widely known drugs such as ganja, cocaine, heroin etc. are mentioned by those names.
Cultivation/production/manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transport, storage, consumption or distribution of any of the following substances, except for medical and scientific purposes and as per the rules or orders and conditions of licences that may be issued, is illegal. [9]
Source: Narcotics Control Bureau
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly morphine and heroin, as well as derivatives of many of the compounds found within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, codeine, and thebaine.
Dimethoxybromoamphetamine (DOB), also known as brolamfetamine (INN) and bromo-DMA, is a psychedelic drug and substituted amphetamine of the phenethylamine class of compounds. DOB was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1967. Its synthesis and effects are documented in Shulgin's book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story.
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 is an international treaty that controls activities of specific narcotic drugs and lays down a system of regulations for their medical and scientific uses; it also establishes the International Narcotics Control Board.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, commonly referred to as the NDPS Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits a person the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchasing, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 August 1985. It was passed by both the Houses of Parliament, received assent from then President Giani Zail Singh on 16 September 1985, and came into force on 14 November 1985. The NDPS Act has since been amended four times — in 1988, 2001, 2014 and 2021. The Act extends to the whole of India and it applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 is one of three major drug control treaties currently in force. It provides additional legal mechanisms for enforcing the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Convention entered into force on November 11, 1990. As of June 2020, there are 191 Parties to the Convention. These include 186 out of 193 United Nations member states and the Holy See, the European Union, the Cook Islands, Niue, and the State of Palestine.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1984, Misuse of Drugs Act 2015 and the Criminal Justice Act 2010 are the acts of the Oireachtas regulating drugs in Ireland. The acts define the penalties for unlawful production, possession and supply of drugs.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 is a drug control law in Singapore classifying substances into three categories, Classes A, B, and C. Section 44 provides that "The Minister may, by an order published in the Gazette" add, remove, or transfer drugs among the classes. The statute's penal provisions are severe by most nations' standards, providing for long terms of imprisonment, caning, and capital punishment. The law creates a presumption of trafficking for certain threshold amounts, e.g. 30 grams of cannabis. It also creates a presumption that a person possesses drugs if he possesses the keys to a premises containing the drugs, and that "Any person found in or escaping from any place or premises which is proved or presumed to be used for the purpose of smoking or administering a controlled drug shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have been smoking or administering a controlled drug in that place or premises." Thus, one runs the risk of arrest for drug use by simply being in the company of drug users. The law also allows officers to search premises and individuals, without a search warrant, if he "reasonably suspects that there is to be found a controlled drug or article liable to seizure". Moreover, Section 31 allows officers to demand urinalysis of suspected drug offenders while section 8A prohibits any citizen or permanent resident of Singapore to use any prohibited drug outside of the country, and if found guilty to be punished as if they committed that act within the country.
1,3-Benzodioxolyl-N-methylbutanamine (N-methyl-1,3-benzodioxolylbutanamine, MBDB, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methyl-α-ethylphenylethylamine) is an entactogen of the phenethylamine chemical class. It is known by the street names Eden and Methyl-J. MBDB is a ring substituted amphetamine and an analogue of MDMA. Like MDMA, it has a methylene dioxy substitution at the 3 and 4 position on the aromatic ring; this is perhaps the most distinctive feature that structurally define analogues of MDMA, in addition to their unique effects, and as a class they are often referred to as "entactogens" to differentiate between typical psychostimulant amphetamines that (as a general rule) are not ring substituted. MBDB differs from MDMA by having an ethyl group instead of a methyl group attached to the alpha carbon; all other parts are identical. Modification at the alpha carbon is uncommon for substituted amphetamines. It has IC50 values of 784 nM against 5-HT, 7825 nM against dopamine, and 1233 nM against norepinephrine. Its metabolism has been described in scientific literature.
Thailand's Psychotropic Substances Act is a law designed to regulate certain mind-altering drugs. According to the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, "The Act directly resulted from the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 of which Thailand is a party." The Act divides psychotropic drugs into four Schedules. Offenses involving Schedule I and II drugs carry heavier penalties than those involving Schedule III and IV drugs. Note that this statute does not regulate most opioids, cocaine, or some amphetamines. The vast majority of narcotic painkillers, along with cocaine and most amphetamines are regulated under the Narcotics Act.
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is Canada's federal drug control statute. Passed in 1996 under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's government, it repeals the Narcotic Control Act and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drugs Act, and establishes eight Schedules of controlled substances and two Classes of precursors. It provides that "The Governor in Council may, by order, amend any of Schedules I to VIII by adding to them or deleting from them any item or portion of an item, where the Governor in Council deems the amendment to be necessary in the public interest."
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylamphetamine is a psychedelic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, and was described in his book PiHKAL.
α-Methylfentanyl an opioid analgesic that is an analog of fentanyl. It is sometimes sold as "China White".
Trimeperidine (Promedol) is an opioid analgesic that is an analogue of prodine. It was developed in the early 1950s in the USSR during research into the related drug pethidine.
The Opium Law is the section of the Dutch law which covers nearly all psychotropic drugs.
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 is a United Nations treaty designed to control psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and psychedelics signed in Vienna, Austria on 21 February 1971. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 did not ban the many newly discovered psychotropics, since its scope was limited to drugs with cannabis, coca and opium-like effects.
Legal cultivation of opium for medicinal purposes is carried out in India, only in selected areas, under free licensing conditions. India is the world's largest manufacturer of legal opium for the pharmaceutical industry according to the CIA World Factbook. India is one among 12 countries in world where legal cultivation for medical use is permissible within the ambit of United Nations, Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961. In India legal cultivation is done primarily in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Despite producing poppy for opium production India depends heavily on imports to meet need of Poppy seed for edible purposes and domestic Codeine demand for medical purposes . Opium is heavily imported from its top producing nations like Afghanistan. There is also an account of Opium black marketing in India.
These drugs are known in the UK as controlled drug, because this is the term by which the act itself refers to them. In more general terms, however, many of these drugs are also controlled by the Medicines Act 1968, there are many other drugs which are controlled by the Medicines Act but not by the Misuse of Drugs Act, and some other drugs are controlled by other laws.
Central Bureau of Narcotics is affiliated with India's Department of Revenue (IRS) and regulated by the country's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. The main function of CBN is to stop opium production and trade, and to issue licenses for production of legal synthetic drugs. The Central Bureau of Narcotics headquarters is located at Gwalior.
Portaria nº 344/1998 is the Brazilian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Brazil's federal drug control statute, issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Health through its National Health Surveillance Agency. The "Portaria" also serves as the implementing legislation for the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Thenylfentanyl is an analogue of fentanyl where the phenethylamine side-chain has been replaced by a thiophenylmethyl group. It was temporarily scheduled by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1985, due to fears it would be used as a designer drug. But in 2010 the DEA acknowledged it was essentially inactive. Subsequently, the substance was since deregulated.
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