The Lok Sabha on December 05, 2025, introduced the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2024 further to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
The following amendments have been stated:
• In section 1, in sub-section (1), for the words section 1. "Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances", the words "Hard Drugs" shall be substituted.
• In section 4, in sub-section (2), after clause (da), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-
"(db) introduction of mechanism for authorised and monitored sale of soft drugs with such cap on profit to be made by a retailer on the sale of soft drugs, as 35 the Central Government may determine;".
• In section 6 of the principal Act, after sub-section (2), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided that the members of the Committee shall be certified experts in matters pertaining to hard drugs;"
• For section 8 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:-
"8. No person shall produce, manufacture, possess, sell, purchase, transport, warehouse, use, consume, import inter-State, export inter-State, import from India, export from India or tranship any hard drug or its substituent listed under the rules or the orders made under this Act, except for medical or scientific purposes and in the manner and to extent provided by the provisions of this Act or the rules or orders made thereunder and in case where any such provision, imposes any requirement by way of licence, permit or authorisation, the terms and conditions of such licence, permit or authorisation shall also be adhered to:
Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to the export of poppy straw for decorative purposes.".
• For section 27 of the principal Act, the following section shall substituted, namely:—
"27.Whoever, consumes any hard drug or its substituent shall,- be
(a) where the user is not classified as a repeated offender, be punished with fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or remanded to a dedicated rehabilitation or counselling centre for detoxification or be required to undergo community service at a rehabilitation centre or be subject to all the three, that is, the fine, the remand and the community service;
(b) if the user has made a voluntary declaration, not attract any criminal liability; and
(c) where the user has been classified as a repeated offender with more than two instances of use of hard drug, be remanded to a dedicated rehabilitation centre followed by compulsory community service.".
The detailed bill is attached to the document below.
[Bill No. 188 of 2024]
