Cannabis Laws in India

The NDPS Act 1985 — India’s Cannabis Law

India’s primary drug legislation, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 (NDPS Act), distinguishes between different forms of cannabis in a way that reflects the country’s complex cultural relationship with the plant. The Act defines three key terms:

• Ganja: The flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant, with or without seeds, from which resin has not been extracted.
• Charas: The separated resin (hashish) obtained from the cannabis plant.
• Cannabis plant: Any plant of the genus Cannabis.

Crucially, the Act’s Schedule excludes leaves and seeds from its definition of prohibited cannabis. This exclusion forms the legal basis for bhang — a preparation traditionally made from cannabis leaves — to remain outside central narcotics law, regulated instead at the state level.

The NDPS Act was passed during a global wave of prohibition following pressure from the United States’s War on Drugs, replacing earlier colonial-era legislation that had been more permissive. It introduced a three-tier quantity system that determines mandatory minimum sentences:

Possession Penalties Under the NDPS Act

Quantity Type	Ganja Threshold	Charas Threshold	Penalty
Small quantity	Up to 1 kg	Up to 100 g	Up to 6 months prison or Rs 10,000 fine, or both
Intermediate quantity	1 kg–20 kg	100 g–1 kg	Rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years + fine up to Rs 1 lakh
Commercial quantity	20 kg or more	1 kg or more	Rigorous imprisonment 10–20 years + fine Rs 1–2 lakh
Repeat offence (any quantity)	Any	Any	Enhanced penalties; life imprisonment possible
Financing trafficking	Any	Any	Same as trafficking with confiscation of assets

One crucial and harsh feature of the NDPS Act is that the intermediate and commercial quantity thresholds trigger mandatory minimum sentences. Judges have no discretion to impose lesser sentences even in mitigating circumstances at these quantity levels. This has been subject to criticism from Indian legal scholars and human rights organisations who argue it produces disproportionate outcomes in cases involving small-scale users or couriers.

In 2014, the Supreme Court of India in Hira Singh v. Union of India confirmed that the quantities of the mixture of the offending substance — not the pure controlled substance within — should be considered when determining quantity thresholds. This partially addressed concerns about harsh outcomes in cases involving compound preparations.

Bhang — The Legal Exception

Bhang occupies a unique legal position globally. Because it is derived from leaves and seeds rather than flowers or resin, it falls outside the NDPS Act’s definition of controlled cannabis. State governments are empowered to regulate or ban bhang independently.

In practice, many Indian states license bhang shops, particularly in religious pilgrimage towns. Government-licensed bhang shops operate openly in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Pushkar and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), and elsewhere. Bhang lassi — a spiced yoghurt drink infused with bhang paste — is consumed by millions of Indians during the Hindu festivals of Holi and Mahashivratri.

The potency of bhang products is highly variable. Unregulated preparations can contain substantial THC from leaf material and seeds, producing effects significantly stronger than consumers anticipate. Tourists unfamiliar with bhang’s effects — and with the variable dosing — report cases of acute anxiety and disorientation from misjudging consumption.

The Sadhu and Chillum Tradition

Cannabis has been used as a spiritual sacrament in Hindu tradition for thousands of years, most prominently by Shaivite sadhus — ascetic renunciants devoted to the deity Shiva. Charas (hashish), smoked in a traditional clay chillum, is considered by many practitioners to be an offering to Shiva and a tool for achieving states of meditative consciousness.

This tradition is embedded in Indian culture in a way that has historically made enforcement of NDPS Act provisions against sadhus politically sensitive. Police in pilgrimage towns such as Varanasi and at the Kumbh Mela gatherings — which draw tens of millions of visitors — typically do not enforce prohibition against sadhu chillum use during festivals.

The legal reality, however, is that the NDPS Act contains no religious exemption. A sadhu arrested with charas is technically subject to the same penalties as any other person. This inconsistency between cultural tolerance and legal framework has been raised repeatedly in Indian civil society debate about drug law reform.

Medical Cannabis

India does not have a functional medical cannabis programme for patients. The NDPS Act permits the central government to cultivate cannabis for scientific and medical research, and several government-licensed facilities exist for this purpose, including at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) in Lucknow.

Indian pharmaceutical companies have shown growing interest in cannabinoid-based medicines following international developments, particularly the FDA approval of Epidiolex (CBD) in the United States and the increasing availability of cannabis-based medicines in Europe. As of mid-2026, no domestically manufactured cannabis medicine had received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for patient prescription.

Imported cannabis medicines are theoretically available through special licences under Schedule H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, but the practical pathway is complex and accessible only to well-resourced patients with specialist medical support.

Hemp and CBD in India

Industrial hemp cultivation has been authorised in several Indian states following policy changes in the late 2010s:

• Uttarakhand became the first Indian state to permit industrial hemp cultivation in 2017. The state government defines hemp as cannabis with THC below 0.3% and has issued licences for fibre, seed, and CBD extract production.
• Himachal Pradesh — known historically as a major charas-producing region, particularly in the Parvati Valley — has explored state-sanctioned hemp and cannabis programmes.
• Uttar Pradesh, which permits bhang through licensed shops, has discussed widening its agricultural approach to hemp.

The broader CBD industry in India is nascent but growing. Products are sold in wellness contexts in urban centres — Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore — despite the absence of explicit regulatory approval for CBD as a food supplement or cosmetic ingredient. The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has not yet issued clear guidelines on CBD in food products, creating uncertainty for domestic businesses.

State Variation in Enforcement

India’s federal structure means that enforcement of cannabis law varies considerably by state. Key regional patterns include:

State / Region	Character	Notes
Himachal Pradesh (Parvati Valley, Kasol, Manali)	High use, inconsistent enforcement	Major charas-producing region; tourist-focused enforcement; police corruption common
Goa	Tourist area; enforcement sporadic	Beach parties and tourist areas; periodic crackdowns; NDPS cases do result in arrest
Rajasthan (Pushkar, Jaisalmer)	Bhang legal; other cannabis patchy	Government bhang shops operate; charas use in tourist areas tolerated variably
Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi)	Bhang legal; religious tolerance for sadhus	Kumbh Mela context; official bhang shops; sadhu use rarely enforced
Mumbai / Delhi / Bangalore	Strict legal enforcement	Urban police more likely to prosecute; middle-class recreational arrests occur
Northeast States	Variable	Close proximity to Myanmar/Southeast Asia; trafficking enforcement a priority

Traveller Advice

India attracts large numbers of foreign travellers partly due to its historical cannabis culture, but the gap between cultural tolerance and legal reality is a serious risk for uninformed visitors:

• Bhang is the only form of cannabis that can be legally consumed in India. Government bhang shops in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the safest legal option.
• Possession of charas or ganja — even small amounts — is a criminal offence and NDPS Act arrests of foreign nationals are not uncommon, particularly in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan tourist areas.
• Corrupt police actively target tourists and foreign nationals. Accepting informal payment offers without involving a lawyer risks being blackmailed further.
• Pre-trial detention periods in India can be lengthy, particularly for narcotics offences. The NDPS Act contains provisions making bail difficult in commercial-quantity cases.
• The UK Foreign Office, US State Department, and other government travel advisories specifically warn about cannabis-related arrests in India, particularly in Himachal Pradesh and Goa.

Reform Debate

India has seen growing academic, political, and public debate about NDPS Act reform. The All India Drug Policy Alliance and various civil society groups have argued for decriminalisation of personal use, pointing to the cultural contradiction of bhang’s legal status alongside harsh penalties for flower and resin. Several Indian states have formally or informally requested the central government to review the NDPS Act’s mandatory minimum provisions.

The BJP-led central government has not announced plans for reform as of mid-2026. However, the global context — particularly Germany’s April 2024 partial legalisation, Canada’s ongoing federal framework, and the United States’ federal scheduling review — has given reform advocates new arguments for India to follow international evidence rather than 1985-era US drug war logic.

Key Cases and Legal Precedents

Several court decisions and institutional positions have shaped how India’s NDPS Act operates in practice:

• Hira Singh v. Union of India (2020, Supreme Court): A five-judge constitutional bench held that for the purposes of determining whether a quantity is “small” or “commercial”, the entire mixture containing the drug — not just the pure controlled substance within it — should be considered. This reduced the harshness of outcomes in some cases involving preparations with cannabis.
• Arjun Singh v. State of Himachal Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh High Court cases have periodically examined the enforcement of NDPS provisions in the context of the state’s historically cannabis-producing culture. Courts have at times reduced sentences for small personal-use amounts found on first-time offenders in this context.
• Bombay High Court bail jurisprudence: The NDPS Act significantly restricts bail for intermediate and commercial quantity offences. Bombay High Court has issued a number of judgments clarifying the conditions under which bail can be granted — generally requiring “reasonable grounds to believe” the accused is not guilty and will not re-offend.
• NCB enforcement powers: The Narcotics Control Bureau, India’s federal anti-narcotics agency, has wide powers under the NDPS Act including property seizure and reversal of the burden of proof in certain circumstances. NCB operations have periodically targeted Bollywood and entertainment industry figures, generating high-profile public coverage.

The Goa Cannabis Culture

Goa holds a unique place in India’s cannabis landscape. The former Portuguese colony became a destination for Western hippie travellers in the late 1960s and 1970s, and the Anjuna flea market, beach parties, and trance music scene built an association with cannabis that persists. Key aspects of the Goa reality:

• The Goa police conduct regular operations targeting drug use, particularly in tourist areas and during festival seasons (Sunburn Festival, NYE events). Foreign nationals have been arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned in Goa for cannabis possession.
• NDPS Act enforcement in Goa is not uniformly applied — corruption and selective targeting based on perceived ability to pay are documented. This does not make Goa “safe”; it makes it unpredictable.
• Beach shack owners and taxi drivers in Goa sometimes offer tourists cannabis. Accepting these offers creates the same legal exposure as purchasing from any other informal source.
• The Goa Civil Society and tourist safety advocates have noted that foreign tourists who are scammed or arrested tend not to report incidents, contributing to under-reporting of the actual scale of drug-related tourist incidents.

Related Guides

• Cannabis Laws in Germany
• Cannabis Laws in the Netherlands
• Cannabis Laws in Japan
• Cannabis Laws in Morocco
• Cannabis Travel Guides
• Travelling with Cannabis

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