Is Ayahuasca legal in India?

Legal status

Controlled in India, but not under this name: it is not named in the Act's Schedule, and the matched entry that carries it reads «3 DMT N, N-Dimethyltryptamine», at serial 3 of the Act's Schedule.

Consequences if caught

Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to psychotropic substances in three quantity bands. A small quantity carries rigorous imprisonment which may extend to 1 year. A quantity greater than small but less than commercial carries rigorous imprisonment which may extend to 10 years. A commercial quantity carries rigorous imprisonment of 10 to 20 years, and that lower figure is a statutory minimum rather than a starting point. The fine runs with the band: up to 10,000 rupees at small quantity, up to 1 lakh rupees in the middle band, and 1 lakh to 2 lakh rupees at commercial quantity, and the court may record reasons for a higher fine. Section 27 punishes consumption, with rigorous imprisonment up to 1 year and a fine up to 20,000 rupees for cocaine, morphine, diacetylmorphine and any substance notified in that behalf, and imprisonment up to 6 months and a fine up to 10,000 rupees for anything else. Every offence under the Act is cognizable, but the section 37 bail bar reaches only sections 19, 24 and 27A and offences involving a commercial quantity. Section 31 raises the ceiling to one and one half times after a previous conviction, and section 64A gives an addict charged under section 27 or with a small quantity immunity on completing recognised de-addiction treatment. The band for this row is set by the small and commercial quantity notification at serial 129: a small quantity is 0.1 g and a commercial quantity is 2 g. Note 4 of that notification applies the figure to the entire mixture or solution in dosage form and not to the pure drug content, so packaging weight and cutting agents count toward the band. Section 31A does not reach this row: its table names only opium, morphine, heroin, codeine, thebaine, cocaine, hashish, LSD, the listed THC isomers, methamphetamine, methaqualone and amphetamine, with their salts and preparations, and this row is not among them. Quantity serial 239 prices a mixture at the lesser of the figures given against its constituents, and note 4 applies the figure to the whole liquid rather than to its DMT content, which is a material point for a brew that is mostly water. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.

If prescribed or medical

A brew prepared for ceremony is not a dispensed medicine, and India recognises no religious or therapeutic exemption for it.

Documentation

The brew is made from Banisteriopsis caapi with a DMT-bearing leaf. Neither plant is named in Indian law, and the placement rests on the DMT the brew contains; a preparation containing a listed substance is caught by Schedule serial 111 and by quantity serial 239. India's essential narcotic drugs for medical and scientific use, notified under section 2(viiia) by S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015, are codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine and oxycodone; a traveller carrying one should carry the prescription with the original packaging, bring only a reasonable personal quantity and declare it at customs. Tramadol was added to the Act's psychotropic Schedule in 2018 and its commercial quantity is 250 g. This reading is stated as at the Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Act and Rules labelled updated 2026, which prints the Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025, read with S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026, and it does not rule out a later notification.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with India’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.