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The main objective of drug control legislation is to protect the welfare of the public by preventing and eliminating the detrimental social and moral effects commonly associated with the indiscriminate use of drugs and psychoactive substances.

1. The Opium Act, 1857

“The Act's stated goal is to eliminate certain inconsistencies between the law governing the production of opium and its cultivation on behalf of the government and the practice that then prevailed as a result of the agreement between opium agents and growers, as well as formally repealing certain dated regulations relating to its provisions. The statute, among other things, allows for”: -

I. The Central Government's appointment of opium agents following consideration of any suggestions made in this regard by the State Government.

II. The Central Government's appointment of personnel to aid the opium agents

III. Determination by the Central Government of the restrictions on the issuance of permits for the cultivation of poppies on its behalf, as well as the Central Government's fixation of the price to be paid to growers for the opium produced.

IV. The District Opium Personnel or other officers in charge of overseeing poppy cultivation are suing licenses for poppy growing.

V.Levy of penalty by the Deputy Agent or Collector on the cultivator who received advance from the Government and did not cultivate the full area of land for which he received the advance.

VI. Delivery of all opium by the cultivator to the District Opium Officer or other officers authorized to receive such opium. Weighment and classification of opium by the District Opium Officer or other offers authorized to do so. Weighment and examination of the opium at the sadar factory.

2. The Opium Act, 1878

The Opium Act, 1878 was enacted to amend the law relating to opium. The act provided, inter-alia, for the following;

I. Power to make rules by the State Government to govern, possession, transport, import or export or sale of opium.

II. Notification by the state Government to declare any place as warehouse for opium legally imported and making of rules by the State Government to regulate custody of opium in such warehouse, levy of fees for warehousing, removal of opium for sale or exportation, the manner in which it should be disposed of etc.

III. Punishment up to three years and fine for the person who in contravention of the provisions of the Act possesses, transport, import, expense, sells warehouse, or removes opium or does any act in respect of warehoused opium.

IV. Power to make rules by the State Government to regulate disposal of all things confiscated under the Act and the rewards to be paid to the officers and informers.

V. Authorization by the Central Government or by the State Government of officers of certain Departments to search, seizure, arrest etc. when an offence relating to opium was committed.

VI. Power to seize in open places at any time of the day. Duty on officers to assist each other.

VII.Conferment of power on the State Government to authorize the Collector, Deputy Commissioners or other officers to issue warrant of arrest. Furnishing a report on the arrest made and articles seized to the immediate superior, within 48 hours.

3. The Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930

“The International Opium Convention was adopted by the Second Opium Conference and signed at Geneva on February 19, 1925. This Act was passed to give it effect. One of the goals of the Act was to make certain operations' punishments standardized and to increase the penalties for certain offences involving dangerous drugs. The Convention was ratified by India on February 17th, 1926. One significant aspect of the Act was how it expanded the definition of "hemp" to include the leaves and tiny stalks of the Indian hemp plant, as opposed to the 1925 International Opium Convention definition, which did not do so. The act envisaged inter-alia, the following”:

I. “Prohibition of cultivation of any coca plant, or gathering any portion of •coca plant, manufacture or possession of prepared opium, unless it was prepared from opium lawfully possessed for the sale consumption of the person so possessing it, or importation into or exportation from India, transshipment or sale of prepared opium. Any person who contravened these provisions was liable for imprisonment, which might extend to 43 three years with or without fine”.

II. “No one should cultivate poppy or manufacture opium except in accordance with the rules made by the Central Government. The rules made by the Central Government might permit and regulate the cultivation of the poppy; and the manufacture of opium, prescribe the form and conditions of licensees for such cultivation and manufacture the authorities by which such licensees might be granted, the fees that might be charged therefore, and any other matter requisite to render effective the control of the Central Government over such cultivation and manufacture. The Central Government might also make rules permitting and regulating the sale of opium from the Government factories for export or to State Government or to Manufacturing chemists. Any person who contravened there provisions was liable for that extend years with or without fine”.

III. “No one should manufacture any manufactured drug, other than prepared opium, except in accordance with the rules made by the Central Government. The rules made by the Central Government might permit and regulate the manufacture or manufactured drug other than prepared opium, prescribe the form and conditions of licenses for such manufacture, the authorities by which licenses might be granted, the fees that might be charged therefore, and any other matter requisite to render effective the control of the Central Government over such manufacture. 46 Any person who contravened these provisions was liable for imprisonment that might extend to three years with or without fine”.

IV. “Aside from prepared opium, no one may import, export, or transship any dangerous drugs into or out of India unless they do so in conformity with regulations established by the Central Government. The Central Government may make rules that permit and control the import of dangerous drugs into and out of India as well as their transshipment. These rules may also specify the ports or locations where dangerous drugs of any kind may be imported, exported, or transshipped as well as the format and requirements for any licenses necessary for such import, export, or transshipment that might be charged therefore, and any other matter requisite to render effective the control of the Central Government over such import, export or transshipment. Any person who contravened these provisions was liable for imprisonment which might extend to three years with or without fine”.

V. “No one should import or export inter-state transport, possess or sell any manufactured drug, other than prepared opium or coca leaf, or manufacture medicinal opium or any preparation containing morphine, diacetylmorphine or cocaine except in accordance with the rules made by the States Government. The rules made by the State Government might permit and regulate the inter-State import and export into and from the territories under its administration, the transport, possession and sale of manufactured drugs, other than prepared opium and coca leaf and the manufacture of medicinal opium or of any preparation containing morphine, diacetylmorphine or cocaine from materials which the maker was lawfully entitled to possess. Such rules might prescribe the form and conditions of licenses for such impound, export, transport, possession, sale and manufacture, the authorities by which such licenses might granted, the fees that might be charged therefore, and any other matter requisite to render effective the control of the state Government over such import, export, transport, possession, sale and manufacture”.

VI. “Unless in conformity with the terms of a license issued by and under the direction of the Government, no one should engage in or control any transaction whereby a dangerous substance was purchased outside India and provided to any person outside India. Anyone who violated these rules was subject to a fine that might reach one thousand rupees”.

VII. “Anyone who, as the owner, occupant, or user of any house, room, enclosure, space, vessel, vehicle, or location, knowingly allowed any offence punishable under Sections 1.05.12, 13.14 to be committed by another person should face a sentence of up to two years in prison, with or without a fine”.

VIII. “Whoever having been convicted of an offence punishable under sections 10, 12,13 or 14 was guilty of any offence punishable under any of these sections should be subject for every such subsequent offence to imprisonment which might extend to four years with or without fine”.

IX.“Whoever having been convicted of an offence punishable under Section 15 was again guilty of an offence punishable under that section, should be subject to every such subsequent offence to imprisonment which might extend to four years with or without fine”.

X. Attempt was punishable with the same punishment provided for the offence attempted to be committed.

XI. Whoever abetted any offence was whether such offence be or be not committed in consequence of such abetment be punished with the punishment provided for the offence.

XII. “The collector or other officer specifically empowered by the State Government in this regard, a Presidency Magistrate of a Magistrate of the First Class, or a Magistrate of the Second Class may issue a warrant for the arrest of any person whom he has reason to believe has committed an offence punishable under the Act or for the search of any building, vessel, or place in which he has reason to believe such person may be”.

XIII. “Any officer of the department of Central excise, Narcotics, Drugs Control, Customs, Revenue, Police or Excise, superior in rank to a peon or constable, authorized in this behalf by the Central or State Governments who has reason to believe from personal knowledge or from information given by any person and taken down in writing, that any dangerous drug in respect of which an offence punishable under the Act has been committed was kept; or concealed in any building, vessel or enclosed place, might between sunrise and sunset enter into any building, vessel or enclosed place, in case; or resistance, break open any door and remove any other obstacle to such entry; seize drug and materials used in the manufacture thereof or other articles liable to confiscation or other evidence and detain and search and arrest any person whom he has reason to believe to have combatted an offence relating to such drug”.

XIV. “Any such officer referred to above might any public place effect seizure, detain or search any person at any time. Whenever any person made any arrest or seizure, he should within 48 hours next after such arrest or seizure, make a full report of all the particulars of such arrest or seizure to his immediate officer superior”.

XV. “The State Government might invest any officer of the Excise Department or any class of such officers, with powers of an officer in charge of a Police station for the investigation of offences under the Act”.

XVI. “In trials under the Act it might be presumed, unless and until the contrary was proved, that the accused had committed an offence under the Act in respect of the drugs, articles etc. for the possession of which he failed to account”.

4. The Opium and Revenue Laws (Extension of Application) Act, 1950.

“The Opium and Revenue Laws (Extension of Application) Act, 1950 (Act 33 of 1950), among others, the Opium Act, 1857, the Opium Act, 1878, and the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930, were extended to certain regions of India. The Act makes certain adjustments to the defining sections in addition to expanding the scope of the aforementioned Acts' application to all of India with the exception of Jammu and Kashmir. Both Houses of Parliament approved the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill, 1985, and the President signed it on September 16, 1985. The current central laws do not give officers of a number of ineffective central enforcement agencies, such as drugs, customs, central excise, etc. the authority to look into violations of the relevant laws”.

5. The NDPS (Amendment) Act, 2001

Different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the NDPS (Amendment) Act, 2001 (9 of 2001), and any reference in any provision to the commencement of the Act should be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision. According to subsection (2) of section I of the NDPS (Amendment) Act, 2001 (9 of 2001), the said act shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette appoint. S.O. notified me. 957 (E), dated September 27, 2001, the Central Government designated October 2, 2001 as the day the aforementioned Act became operative throughout all of India.

The Act applies to all of India. The NDPS Act, as amended by Act 9 of 2001, provides in Subsection (2) of Section I that the Act also applies to all Indian citizens who are present abroad as well as to all occupants of ships and aircraft that are registered in India, wherever they may be. The United Nations Conventions against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988, Article 4 requires that each party take any necessary steps to establish its jurisdiction over the offences it has identified in accordance with Article 3, which has led to the necessity of this provision. paragraph when, inter-alia, the offence is committed on board a vessel flying its flag or an aircraft which is registered under its laws at the time the offence is committed and that each Pany shall also take measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences it has established in accordance with article 3, paragraph I when the alleged offender is present in its territory and it sees not extradite him to another  on the ground that the offence has been committed in its territory or on board a vessel flying its flag or an aircraft which was registered under its law at the time the offence was committed; or that the offence has been committed by one of its nationals.

6.  The NDPS Act 1985

Sub section (3) of section I of the Act provides that the NDPS Act shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Act and for different States. By notification S.O.821 (E) dated 14^th November, 1985,the Central Government appointed 14^th November, 1985 as the date on which the NDPS Act came into force. In Nimel Vs. Assistant Collector the connection of the petitioner was that Parliament having not fixed any date for the NDPS Act to come into force on such date the Central Government might, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint-that the act could thus be brought only by a notification issued under Sub-Section (3) of section I and that sub section (3) of section I itself had not come into force in as much as parliament did not fix any date on which sub-section (3) of section I shall come into force, Central Government did not have any power to issue any notification to bring the Act into force. Kerla High Court rejected the argument. The court held that under sub section (l) of section 5 of the General Clauses Act which provide that where any Central Act is not expressed to come into operation on a particular day, then it shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the assent of the President, sub-section (3) of section I was made operative from the day the Act received the assent of the president. Now the NDPS Act, 1985 is quite exhaustive. It runs into eighty-three provisos and explanations there under. For a systematic dealing, the Act has the objective of the law.

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