Legal status in India

Per-substance legal status for India, from sourced statutes where available. Legal information, not legal advice; drug laws change, so confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.

87 confirmed substances1 not individually verifiedLast updated September 21, 2026

Confirmed legal status

1P-LSD

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. 1P-LSD is the N1-propionyl derivative of lysergide. Lysergide is listed at serial 4, and a propionyl group on the indole nitrogen is neither a salt, an isomer nor a preparation of it, so serial 111 does not carry it either.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. India has no analogue or generic clause, so a derivative of a listed substance stays outside the Schedule until a notification names it, as happened with 25I-NBOMe in 2015 and bromazolam in 2025. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: There is no Indian marketing authorisation for it, so no prescription can be written for it and none carried for it will be recognised.
Documentation: Lysergic acid and its salts are controlled separately as a precursor in Schedules A, B and C of the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013, which is a different regime with a different offence. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 1p-lsd, 1-propionyl, propionyllysergic, lysergide, lysergamide, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

1P-LSD in India, full detail →

2-FDCK

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110ZZH 2-Fluorodeschloroketamine 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)cyclohexan-1-one)», at serial 110ZZH of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238ZZZK: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. It reached the Schedule and the quantity table on the same day, by S.O. 1730(E) and S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It reached the Schedule as a research chemical rather than as a medicine, and no Indian prescription route exists for it in any form.
Documentation: This entry is one of the four added on 16 April 2025, so an older Indian summary will not show it. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110ZZH, inserted by S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238ZZZK · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

2-FDCK in India, full detail →

25I-NBOMe

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110E 25I-NBOMe 2C-I-NBOMe 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl) ethanamine», at serial 110E of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238J: a small quantity is 0.05 g and a commercial quantity is 2.5 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. The commercial threshold of 2.5 g is one of the lowest in the table, so a blotter count that looks trivial can sit in the top band. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has never had a medical use anywhere, so the question of carrying a prescription does not arise.
Documentation: Its two siblings are listed beside it, 25B-NBOMe at 110C and 25C-NBOMe at 110D, each with its own pair of figures. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110E, inserted by S.O. 376(E) of 5 February 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238J · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

25I-NBOMe in India, full detail →

2C-B

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «106 2C-B (4-bromo-2, 5 dimethoxyphenethylamine)», at serial 106 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 153: a small quantity is 0.5 g and a commercial quantity is 10 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. Serial 124 lists Brolamfetamine (DOB) separately at the same two figures, and the two are different substances. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: No Indian pharmacopoeial preparation contains it, so nothing a traveller carries will read as a dispensed medicine.
Documentation: The Schedule prints it without an international non-proprietary name, in the chemical name column alone, which is why a search by trade name finds nothing. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 106, inserted by G.S.R. 475(E) of 11 June 2003 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 153 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-B in India, full detail →

2C-E

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. The phenethylamine family is scheduled one member at a time in India. 2C-B is named at serial 106 and 4-MTA at 107, but the 4-ethyl compound is not among them.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. A reading of the Schedule by chemical name rather than by trade name is what settles this: the chemical name column prints 2C-B and DOET and nothing between them. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: No Indian marketing authorisation exists for it and no pharmacy dispenses it, so there is nothing to document.
Documentation: DOET, the alpha-methylated 4-ethyl compound, is listed at Schedule serial 79, which shows the difference a single methyl group makes to placement. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 2c-e, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine, dimethoxy-4-ethylphen, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-E in India, full detail →

2C-I

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. The only iodinated entry in the Schedule is 25I-NBOMe at serial 110E, whose chemical name is 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl) ethanamine. That is the N-benzyl compound, not 2C-I, and the two differ by the whole methoxybenzyl group.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Reading the chemical name column rather than the alias column is what separates them. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is a research chemical with no Indian medical use, so no prescription or import licence covers it.
Documentation: This is the trap that catches a search by keyword: the string 2C-I appears in the Schedule only inside the alias 2C-I-NBOMe printed against serial 110E. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 2c-i, 4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, iodo-2, 5-dimethoxyphen, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-I in India, full detail →

2C-T-7

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. The Schedule names 2C-B at serial 106 and 4-MTA at 107; no sulphur-bearing phenethylamine of this kind is printed.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Because no entry reaches it, no small or commercial quantity exists for it, and a seizure would have to be resolved by identifying the compound rather than by weighing it. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It has no Indian medical use, and a label describing it as a research chemical does not help a traveller at customs.
Documentation: 4-MTA at serial 107 is the nearest sulphur compound in the list and is an alpha-methyl thiophenethylamine, a different skeleton. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 2c-t-7, propylthio, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-propylthio, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-T-7 in India, full detail →

3-MMC

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110ZZE 3-Methylmethcathinone 2-(methylamino)-1-(3-methylphenyl)propan-1-one», at serial 110ZZE of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238ZZZG: a small quantity is 7.5 g and a commercial quantity is 375 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. Its close relative 4-CMC sits at 110ZJ and 3-CMC at 110ZZF, each with different figures, so the ring substituent decides the band. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is sold only through the designer stimulant trade and has no Indian medical use or prescription route.
Documentation: It was added by S.O. 578(E) of 8 February 2024, two amendments before the version this cell reads. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110ZZE, inserted by S.O. 578(E) of 8 February 2024 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238ZZZG · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

3-MMC in India, full detail →

4-HO-MET

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Psilocin is listed at serial 9 and psilocybine at 10. 4-HO-MET carries an N-ethyl in place of one N-methyl, which changes the molecular formula, so it is not an isomer of either and is not carried by serial 111.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. A seizure here turns entirely on chemical identification: if the analysis returns psilocin, serial 9 and its 2 g and 50 g apply, and if it returns 4-HO-MET, no entry does. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: No Indian medicine contains it and no prescription can be written for it.
Documentation: The Schedule does list one substituted tryptamine beyond the psilocybin pair, etryptamine at serial 105A, which shows the list is specific rather than generic. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 4-ho-met, metocin, hydroxy-n-methyl-n-ethyl, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

4-HO-MET in India, full detail →

5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. DMT is listed at serial 3 by the chemical name N,N-Dimethyltryptamine. The 5-methoxy compound has an extra methoxy group and a different molecular formula, and bufotenine, the 5-hydroxy compound, does not appear in the Indian Schedule at all.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. The practical exposure is that a toad or bark preparation may contain DMT as well, and DMT is placed at serial 3 on the tightest figures in the tryptamine group. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is used ceremonially rather than medically, and India recognises no prescription or ritual exemption for it.
Documentation: Several international lists carry bufotenine and 5-MeO-DMT where India does not, which is a common source of error in secondary summaries of Indian law. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 5-meo, methoxy-n,n-dimethyltrypt, bufotenine, 5-methoxydimethyl, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad) in India, full detail →

6-APB

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. MDA is listed at serial 15 and MDMA at 80. 6-APB is a benzofuran rather than a methylenedioxy phenethylamine, with a different molecular formula, so neither entry reaches it.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. A powder sold under this name is frequently something else, and if the analysis returns MDA or MDMA the row's answer does not apply at all. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It has no Indian marketing authorisation and no pharmacy dispenses it.
Documentation: No benzofuran of any kind is printed in the Indian Schedule, which distinguishes India from jurisdictions that added the family generically. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 6-apb, benzofuran, aminopropylbenzofuran, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

6-APB in India, full detail →

7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Neither the alkaloid nor the tree is printed. The only plant material the Schedule places is Catha edulis at serial 110X.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. It occurs in kratom leaf at well under one per cent. so the practical question for a traveller is the leaf, and the leaf is not placed either. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is sold as a botanical extract rather than as a medicine, so no Indian prescription covers it and none is available to carry.
Documentation: The Food Safety and Standards regime and State law are not read here, and section 81 saves a State Act that imposes a greater restriction than the central Act does. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for 7-hydroxymitragynine, mitragyn, hydroxymitrag, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in India, full detail →

Adderall

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 «16 AMPHETAMINE (+/-)-2-Amino-1-Phenylpropane; 17 DEXAMPHETAMINE (+)-2-Amino-1-phenylpropane», at serial 16 and 17 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 152 and 154: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1,500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Because the product is a mixture of four amphetamine salts, quantity serial 239 applies the lesser of the constituents' figures, and the salts are measured with the tablet rather than separately. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: There is no Indian marketing authorisation for it and no ordinary prescription route; a foreign prescription does not make the salts lawful to carry.
Documentation: Adderall is a United States brand for a mixture of four amphetamine salts and is not marketed in India at all. The brand name appears nowhere in Indian law, and the placement comes from its constituents, which are two separate Schedule entries on identical figures; amphetamine also sits in Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, which requires a special licence and a retained prescription. That marker is not printed in the quoted extract from the NDPS instruments: it belongs to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, a separate regime that section 80 preserves alongside this Act. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serials 16 and 17 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 152 and 154 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Adderall in India, full detail →

Alcohol

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Ethanol appears nowhere in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification. The only entry containing the word is ethchlorvynol at serial 45, a different substance.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. The real exposure in India is a State prohibition offence in Gujarat, Bihar, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep, and a permit requirement in several other States, none of which is an NDPS matter. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is not dispensed as a medicine, and what governs carrying it into an Indian State is that State's excise law and its permit rules, not a prescription.
Documentation: Alcohol in India is a State subject under entry 8 of the State List and is governed by each State's excise Act, which the NDPS Act's section 81 expressly saves; those Acts are not read here and they differ from State to State. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for ethanol, ethyl alcohol, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Alcohol in India, full detail →

Amanita muscaria

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Neither the mushroom nor its actives, muscimol and ibotenic acid, are printed anywhere in the instruments read.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. If a preparation sold as fly agaric in fact contains psilocybin, the answer changes entirely, because psilocybine and psilocin are placed at serials 10 and 9 on 2 g and 50 g. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Nothing about a dried mushroom reads as a dispensed medicine, and India has no prescription route for it.
Documentation: Indian law places psilocybin and psilocin as chemicals at serials 10 and 9 without placing any mushroom, and Amanita muscaria contains neither of them. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for amanita, muscimol, ibotenic, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Amanita muscaria in India, full detail →

Amphetamine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «16 AMPHETAMINE (+/-)-2-Amino-1-Phenylpropane», at serial 16 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 152: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1,500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Amphetamine is one of the four psychotropic substances the section 31A table names at all, and its figure there, 1,500 g, is thirty times its commercial quantity. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: There is no ordinary Indian prescription route for it, and a traveller should not assume a foreign prescription will be recognised.
Documentation: Dexamphetamine is listed separately at Schedule serial 17 and quantity serial 154, on the same pair of figures. It also sits in Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, which requires a special licence and a retained prescription, so the medicines regime and the NDPS regime both apply. That marker is not printed in the quoted extract from the NDPS instruments: it belongs to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, a separate regime that section 80 preserves alongside this Act. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 16 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 152 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Amphetamine in India, full detail →

Amyl Nitrite

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. No alkyl nitrite of any kind is printed in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. The realistic Indian exposure is a customs seizure of an unapproved drug formulation rather than a narcotics charge. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It has a historical cardiac use, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 governs any ampoule of it, applying alongside the NDPS Act by force of section 80.
Documentation: Import of an unapproved drug formulation is a matter for the Drugs and Cosmetics regime and for customs, which are separate from the NDPS Act and are not read here. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for amyl nitrite, alkyl nitrite, nitrite, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Amyl Nitrite in India, full detail →

Ayahuasca

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 / 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serials 3 and 111, and the quantity notification serial 239 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 129 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Ayahuasca in India, full detail →

Barbiturates

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «24 AMOBARBITAL; 25 CYCLOBARBITAL; 28 PENTOBARBITAL; 29 SECOBARBITAL; 32 BARBITAL; 61 METHYLPHENOBARBITAL; 69 PHENOBARBITAL; 93 BUTALBITAL; 95 ALLOBARBITAL; 103 SECBUTABARBITAL; 104 VINYLBITAL; 105 rutobarbital», at serial 24, 25, 28, 29, 32, 61, 69, 93, 95, 103, 104 and 105 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 165, 168, 172, 176, 177, 181, 184, 227 and 233: a small quantity is 20 g and a commercial quantity is 500 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. Every one of the twelve carries the same two figures in the quantity table, 20 g and 500 g, at quantity serials 165, 168, 170, 172, 176, 177, 181, 184, 217, 227 and 233, so the band does not turn on which barbiturate it is. The Schedule's serial 105, printed as rutobarbital, carries the chemical name 5-butyl-5-ethylbarbituric acid, which is the butobarbital priced at quantity serial 184. The Schedule follows the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which is where these entries came from. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Phenobarbital is a prescription anticonvulsant in India and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 applies alongside the NDPS Act; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: The class is not scheduled as a class: twelve individual barbiturates are printed by name, and a thirteenth would need its own entry. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serials 24, 25, 28, 29, 32, 61, 69, 93, 95, 103, 104 and 105 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 165, 168, 172, 176, 177, 181, 184, 227 and 233 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Barbiturates in India, full detail →

Benzodiazepines

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «30 ALPRAZOLAM; 38 CLONAZEPAM; 43 DIAZEPAM; 56 LORAZEPAM; 63 NIMETAZEPAM; 64 NITRAZEPAM; 100 MIDAZOLAM; 110ZN Etizolam; 110ZY Clonazolam; 110ZZA Flubromazolam», at serial 30, 34 to 44, 48 to 53, 55 to 57, 59, 63 to 67, 71, 73, 74, 76, 100, 105E, 110O, 110ZM, 110ZN, 110ZY, 110ZZ and 110ZZA of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 178, 189, 194, 210, 220 and 221: a small quantity is 5 g to 20 g and a commercial quantity is 100 g to 500 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. The designer benzodiazepines added since 2019, flualprazolam, clonazolam, diclazepam and flubromazolam, carry thresholds in hundredths of a gram rather than grams. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Most of them are ordinary Indian prescription medicines and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 applies alongside the NDPS Act; carry the prescription and the original packaging for each one separately.
Documentation: The figures are not uniform across the class: alprazolam and clonazepam sit at 5 g and 100 g, diazepam at 20 g and 500 g, lorazepam and nimetazepam at 10 g and 250 g, and etizolam at 0.05 g and 2.5 g. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule, the benzodiazepine entries at serials 30 to 110ZZA · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 178, 189, 194, 210, 220 and 221 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Benzodiazepines in India, full detail →

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «92 BUPRENORPHINE 21, cyclopropyl-7-alpha-[(S)-1-hydroxy-1,2,2-trimethylpropyl]-6, 14-endo-ethano-6,7,8,14-tetrahydrooripavine», at serial 92 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 169: a small quantity is 1 g and a commercial quantity is 20 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. A 20 g commercial threshold is low for a medicine dispensed in milligrams, and the quantity notification applies the figure to the whole preparation rather than to the pure drug content. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an Indian prescription medicine used in opioid substitution treatment; the 0.4 mg strength is dispensed more widely and the 2 mg and higher strengths are restricted to government-recognised de-addiction centres.
Documentation: India places it in the psychotropic Schedule rather than treating it as an opium derivative, so section 22 and not section 21 supplies the offence. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 92 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 169 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Buprenorphine in India, full detail →

Caffeine

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Caffeine appears nowhere in the instruments read. The stimulants the Schedule places are amphetamine at serial 16, fencamfamin at 97, mazindol at 58, pemoline at 101 and their relatives.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Caffeine appears in seized powders sold as other things, and where it is a cutting agent note 4 of the quantity notification counts its weight toward the band of the drug it is cut with. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is sold as a food and as a component of over-the-counter analgesics, so no prescription is needed and none exists to carry.
Documentation: Caffeine is regulated in India as a food additive and in caffeinated beverages by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, a regime that is not read here. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for caffeine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Caffeine in India, full detail →

Cannabinol

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. The Schedule places tetrahydrocannabinol at serials 13 and 91 by enumerating its isomers and stereochemical variants. Cannabinol is the fully aromatised compound, not a tetrahydro isomer, and is absent from both entries.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. It is a degradation product of tetrahydrocannabinol, so material old enough to be rich in it usually began as resin, and resin is cannabis under section 2(iii) whatever it has turned into. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: No Indian medicine is licensed on this cannabinoid, so a product containing it travels as a cannabis extract and not as a prescription.
Documentation: Where it is present in resin or in an extract of the flowering tops, the article is cannabis under section 2(iii) whatever it contains, and extracts and tinctures are priced at quantity serials 23 and 111. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for cannabinol, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Cannabinol in India, full detail →

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «"cannabis (hemp)" means charas, that is, the separated resin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish; ganja, that is, the flowering of fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops), by whatever name they may be known or designated; and any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared therefrom», at section 2(iii) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to the cannabis plant and cannabis 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 23 and 55: a small quantity is 100 g of charas and 1000 g of ganja and a commercial quantity is 1 kg of charas and 20 kg of ganja. 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 20 kg of hashish, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Cultivating the plant is a separate offence under section 20(a), punishable with rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine up to 1 lakh rupees without any quantity band. Extracts and tinctures are priced separately again, at quantity serials 23 and 111. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: There is no central medical cannabis prescription route in India, so charas and ganja cannot be carried on a foreign prescription.
Documentation: The seeds and leaves, when not accompanied by the tops, fall outside the statutory definition, which is why bhang is treated differently from ganja and charas; section 81 saves State laws that impose a greater restriction, so a State excise Act can prohibit what the central definition leaves out. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, section 2(iii) and section 20, with section 81 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 23 and 55 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Cannabis / THC in India, full detail →

Cathinone

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «77 CATHIONE (-)-(s)-2-aminopropophenone», at serial 77 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 125: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. Cathine, the weaker khat alkaloid, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 94 and quantity serial 171, and the khat leaf itself is a third entry at 110X. The Schedule follows the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which is where these entries came from. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is a plant alkaloid with no Indian medical use, and no preparation containing it is licensed.
Documentation: The Schedule prints the name as CATHIONE, a typographical form of cathinone, and the chemical name column is what identifies the substance. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 77 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 125 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Cathinone in India, full detail →

CBD

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Cannabidiol appears nowhere in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. An imported full-spectrum oil is the risk case: if it carries tetrahydrocannabinol it engages serials 13 and 91 and their 2 g and 50 g, and if it came from charas or ganja it is cannabis in its own right, while a leaf-derived oil follows bhang and sits outside the definition. Indian cannabidiol products are sold under Drugs and Cosmetics or AYUSH licences, which is a medicines regime and not a narcotics one. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Cannabidiol preparations are licensed in India under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and in Ayurvedic practice, and that regime applies alongside the NDPS Act by force of section 80.
Documentation: The question that decides an Indian CBD product is not the molecule but the plant part it came from: seeds and leaves not accompanied by the tops are outside the section 2(iii) definition, resin and flowering tops are inside it. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for cannabidiol, cbd, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

CBD in India, full detail →

Clonazepam

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «38 CLONAZEPAM 5-(0-Chlorophenyl)-1, 3-dihydro-7-nitro-2H-1, 4-benzodiazepin-2-one», at serial 38 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 189: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 100 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. At 5 g and 100 g the thresholds are generous against a 0.5 mg tablet, but the notification measures the whole tablet and not the clonazepam in it. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an Indian prescription anticonvulsant and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 applies alongside the NDPS Act; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: Clonazolam, a designer relative, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 110ZY with a threshold of 0.02 g and 1 g, fifty times tighter. Clonazepam is also a Schedule H1 drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian pharmacy must keep a record of the sale. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 38 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 189 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Clonazepam in India, full detail →

Cocaine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «"coca derivative" means... cocaine, that is, methyl ester of benzoyl-ecgonine and its salts; and all preparations containing more than 0.1 per cent. of cocaine», at section 2(v)(c) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 27: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 100 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Cocaine is one of the three substances section 27 names expressly, so consumption carries the higher consumption band rather than the lower one. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Its only lawful use is as a topical anaesthetic under hospital control, so there is no take-home prescription route for a traveller.
Documentation: A preparation containing not more than 0.1 per cent. of cocaine is outside the coca leaf definition, and coca leaf itself is priced separately at quantity serial 26, 100 g and 2 kg. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(v), 2(xi) and 2(xiv), and section 21 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 27 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Cocaine in India, full detail →

Codeine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «"opium derivative" means... phenanthrene alkaloids, namely, morphine, codeine, thebaine and their salts», at section 2(xvi)(c) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 28: a small quantity is 10 g and a commercial quantity is 1 kg. 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1 kg, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Codeine is one of the seven substances named in the section 31A table, at 1 kg. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an essential narcotic drug; carry the prescription with the original packaging and declare it at customs, and note the exception for dilutions at not more than 100 milligrammes per dosage unit.
Documentation: S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 notifies methyl morphine, commonly known as codeine, subject to an exception for dilutions compounded with other ingredients at not more than 100 milligrammes per dosage unit and not more than 2.5 per cent. in undivided preparations. Codeine cough syrup is also a Schedule H1 drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian pharmacy must keep a record of the sale. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xvi)(c) and 21, with S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 28 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Codeine in India, full detail →

Crack Cocaine

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 «"coca derivative" means... cocaine, that is, methyl ester of benzoyl-ecgonine and its salts; and all preparations containing more than 0.1 per cent. of cocaine», at section 2(v)(c) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 27: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 100 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Because the rock is almost pure cocaine base, the whole-article rule in note 4 of the quantity notification bites hard: a 100 g rock is a commercial quantity outright. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: The freebase has no medical form at all, so nothing carried for it can be documented.
Documentation: Crack is the freebase form sold as smokable rocks. The word appears nowhere in the Indian instruments, and the freebase is reached as cocaine and as a preparation containing more than 0.1 per cent. of cocaine. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(v)(c) and 21 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 27 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Crack Cocaine in India, full detail →

Delta-8-THC

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 «13 TETRAHYDROCANNABIONAL... (6aR, 10aR)-6a,7,10, 10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo [b,d] pyran-1-ol», at serial 13 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 150: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 500 g of the listed THC isomers, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Where the material is a cannabis extract rather than an isolated isomer, the cannabis definition in section 2(iii) and section 20 may apply instead, on the charas figures of 100 g and 1 kg. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: No Indian medicine is licensed on this isomer, and a vape or gummy bought abroad carries no standing here.
Documentation: Indian law places tetrahydrocannabinol by enumerating isomers and their stereochemical variants rather than by trade name, and the fourth chemical name printed at Schedule serial 13 is the delta-8 isomer. Serial 91 adds delta-9 and its stereochemical variants separately. This is a chemical placement and not the plant-form definition, which reaches charas and ganja and leaves bhang outside. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serials 13 and 91 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 150 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Delta-8-THC in India, full detail →

Diazepam

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «43 DIAZEPAM 7-Chloro-1, 3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-2H-1 4-benzondiazepin-2-one», at serial 43 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 194: a small quantity is 20 g and a commercial quantity is 500 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. Diclazepam, sold as a diazepam substitute, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 110ZZ and quantity serial 238ZZV, at 0.2 g and 10 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription medicine and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 applies alongside the NDPS Act; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: At 20 g and 500 g its thresholds are among the most generous in the table, four times those of alprazolam. It is also a Schedule H1 drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian pharmacy must keep a record of the sale. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 43 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 194 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Diazepam in India, full detail →

DMT

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «3 DMT N, N-Dimethyltryptamine», at serial 3 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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. A 2 g commercial threshold is among the tightest for a classical hallucinogen, so a small amount of extracted material can reach the top band. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: No Indian medicine contains it, so a prescription is not available and would not be recognised.
Documentation: DET, the diethyl homologue, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 1 and quantity serial 126, on the same two figures. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 3 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 129 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

DMT in India, full detail →

DOM

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «11 STP, DOM 2-Amino-1-2. 5-dimethoxy-4-methyl) phenylpropane», at serial 11 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 147: a small quantity is 0.5 g and a commercial quantity is 10 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. DOC, a third member of the family, was added later at Schedule serial 110ZO with its own figures of 0.15 g and 7.5 g. The Schedule follows the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which is where these entries came from. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has no medical use in India or anywhere else, so no documentation applies.
Documentation: The Schedule also prints a serial 14 headed DOM whose chemical name is 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine, which is DOB and not DOM; the chemical name column is what identifies each entry. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 11 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 147 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

DOM in India, full detail →

DXM

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Dextromethorphan appears nowhere in the instruments read. Its levorotatory counterpart levorphanol is at quantity serial 66, racemethorphan at 115 and levomethorphan at 63, and dextromethorphan is none of the three.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. A cough preparation combining dextromethorphan with codeine is a different question, because codeine is an opium derivative with a 10 g and 1 kg pair of its own. Dextromethorphan on its own is governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and not by this one. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian over-the-counter and prescription cough medicine, governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.
Documentation: The three methorphan entries in the quantity table are a good illustration of why an Indian cell has to be read by chemical identity: the racemate and the levo isomer are placed and the dextro isomer is not. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for dextromethorphan, racemethorphan, methorphan, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

DXM in India, full detail →

Ephedrine

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 «SCHEDULE A... 4. Ephedrine and its salts; SCHEDULE B... 4. Ephedrine, its salts and preparations thereof; SCHEDULE C... 4. Ephedrine, its salts and preparations thereof», in Schedules A, B and C of the Controlled Substances Order.
Consequences if caught: Section 25A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention of an order made under section 9A 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. No band applies to this row: section 25A carries no small, intermediate or commercial quantity at all. 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. Section 25A carries no quantity bands at all: rigorous imprisonment which may extend to 10 years and a fine which may extend to 1 lakh rupees, with the court able to record reasons for more. The offence is a contravention of the Controlled Substances Order, made under section 9A. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is sold in India as an ordinary medicine and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 applies alongside the NDPS Act; carry the prescription and the original packaging for anything beyond a personal supply.
Documentation: A controlled substance is a precursor, not a narcotic drug and not a psychotropic substance. India's Controlled Substances Order is the domestic implementation of the precursor obligations that the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic created; the instrument read for this cell is the Order itself and not that Convention. Schedule A subjects manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, possession, storage and consumption to the Order's controls; Schedule B covers export and Schedule C import. Those three markers are not printed in the quoted extract of the Act's own Schedule, because they belong to the 2013 Order, which the consolidation prints at its pages 177 to 178A. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(viid), 9A and 25A, with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Regulation of Controlled Substances) Order 2013, Schedules A, B and C · no quantity notification serial applies to a controlled substance · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Ephedrine in India, full detail →

Etizolam

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110ZN Etizolam 4-(2-Chlorophenyl)-2-ethyl-9-methyl-6H-thieno[3,2-f][1,2,4]triazolo[4,3a][1,4]diazepine», at serial 110ZN of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238ZZC: a small quantity is 0.05 g and a commercial quantity is 2.5 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. It is a thienotriazolodiazepine rather than a benzodiazepine, which is why it needed its own Schedule entry in 2018 rather than being carried by an existing one. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is prescribed in India as a short-acting anxiolytic; carry the prescription and the original packaging, and expect the tablet count to be read against a very tight threshold.
Documentation: Its thresholds are four hundred times tighter than diazepam's, so the same tablet count can sit in a different band depending on which of the two it is. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 governs it as a medicine alongside the NDPS Act, which section 80 preserves expressly. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110ZN, inserted by S.O. 821(E) of 27 February 2018 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238ZZC · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Etizolam in India, full detail →

Fentanyl

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 «1-phenethyl-4-N-propionylamino-piperidine (the international non-proprietary name of which is Fentanyl) and its salts and preparations, admixtures, extracts or other substances containing any of these drugs», in S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 53: a small quantity is 0.005 g and a commercial quantity is 0.1 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. Its thresholds are the tightest of any medicine in the table, and the whole-article rule in note 4 means the patch backing counts toward the weight. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an essential narcotic drug; a patch or lozenge should travel with the prescription and the original packaging and be declared at customs.
Documentation: A patch worn on the skin is a preparation containing the drug, so it is caught; the NDPS Rules set a separate possession allowance for a medical practitioner, by patches of 12.5 and 25 microgram per hour. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xi), 2(xiv) and 21, with S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 53 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Fentanyl in India, full detail →

Gabapentin

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Gabapentin appears nowhere in the instruments read.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Its Schedule H1 status means a pharmacy must record the sale, so a traveller who buys it locally should expect to show a prescription at the counter. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription anticonvulsant; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: India added gabapentin and pregabalin to Schedule H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, a prescription-record regime, which is separate from NDPS scheduling and is not a criminal drug placement. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for gabapentin, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Gabapentin in India, full detail →

GBL

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. GHB is placed at Schedule serial 108 by its own chemical name. Gamma-butyrolactone is the lactone, a different compound with a different formula, and it is absent from the Schedule, from the NDPS Rules and from the precursor Schedules of the 2013 Order.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Its practical exposure is as a GHB precursor in a manufacturing case, and GHB itself is placed at serial 108 on 10 g and 250 g. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an industrial solvent rather than a medicine, so no prescription exists for it and none would help.
Documentation: Several jurisdictions control GBL as a GHB precursor; India's precursor list in the 2013 Order does not include it, and its Schedules A, B and C were last extended by G.S.R. 71(E) of 23 January 2025 without adding it. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for gamma-butyrolactone, butyrolactone, gbl, 1,4-butanediol, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

GBL in India, full detail →

GHB

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «108 GHB (r-Hydroxybutyric Acid)», at serial 108 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 204: a small quantity is 10 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. GHB is dosed in millilitres of a salted solution, and note 4 measures the solution rather than the acid, so a 250 g commercial quantity can be reached by a single small bottle. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Sodium oxybate is not marketed in India, so there is no take-home prescription route for a traveller.
Documentation: It is printed in the chemical name column without an international non-proprietary name, so a search of the name columns alone misses it. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 108 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 204 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

GHB in India, full detail →

Heroin

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «"opium derivative" means... diacetylmorphine, that is, the alkaloid also known as diamorphine or heroin and its salts; and all preparations containing more than 0.2 per cent. of morphine or containing any diacetylmorphine», at section 2(xvi)(d) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 56: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1 kg, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Diacetylmorphine is one of the three substances section 27 names expressly, so consumption carries the higher consumption band. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Diacetylmorphine has no Indian medical use at all, unlike in the few countries that run heroin-assisted treatment, so no prescription travels with it.
Documentation: Any preparation containing any diacetylmorphine at all is an opium derivative, with no percentage floor, unlike the 0.2 per cent. floor that applies to morphine. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xvi)(d) and 21 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 56 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Heroin in India, full detail →

HHC

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110ZZJ Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) 6,6,9-Trimethyl-3-pentyl-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol», at serial 110ZZJ of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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. No band has been set for this row: the quantity notification carries no entry for it. 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. No small or commercial quantity has been notified for it: the quantity notification was last amended by S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 and the publisher's notifications page shows no 2026 amendment of it, so the band that decides the sentence has not yet been set. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is sold through the semi-synthetic cannabinoid trade and no Indian medicine contains it.
Documentation: This is the newest entry in the Indian Schedule. S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 inserted it and carisoprodol after serial 110ZZI, and its own clause 2 brings it into force on publication with no transitional period. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110ZZJ, inserted by S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · the quantity notification carries no serial for this row · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

HHC in India, full detail →

Hydrocodone

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 «Dihydrocodeinone (commonly known as Hydrocodone), its salts (such as Dicodide, Codinovo, Diconone, Hycodan, Multacodin, Nyodide, Ydroced and the like) and its esters and salts of its esters, and preparations, admixtures, extracts or other substances containing any of these drugs», in S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 57: a small quantity is 1 g and a commercial quantity is 20 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. A hydrocodone cough syrup is a preparation containing the drug, and note 4 measures the syrup and not the hydrocodone in it, so a single large bottle can pass the 20 g commercial line. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an essential narcotic drug; a cough syrup or tablet containing it should travel with the prescription and the original packaging and be declared at customs.
Documentation: Its thresholds are the tightest of the six essential narcotic drugs apart from fentanyl, 1 g and 20 g, and a cough syrup is a preparation containing the drug. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xi), 2(xiv) and 21, with S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 57 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Hydrocodone in India, full detail →

Ketamine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110A KETAMINE 2-(2-cholorphenyl)-2-(methyl amino) cyclohexanone», at serial 110A of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238E: a small quantity is 10 g and a commercial quantity is 500 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. Methoxetamine and 2-fluorodeschloroketamine, both ketamine analogues, have separate entries at 110N and 110ZZH with their own figures. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is a hospital anaesthetic in India and there is no ordinary take-home prescription route, so a traveller should not expect to carry it.
Documentation: It was brought into the Schedule by G.S.R. 311(E) of 10 February 2011 and priced by S.O. 1430(E) of 21 June 2011, four months apart. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110A, inserted by G.S.R. 311(E) of 10 February 2011 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238E · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Ketamine in India, full detail →

Khat

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110X Catha Edulis (Dry Chatt or Mira leaves Dry Chat Edulis)», at serial 110X of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238ZG: a small quantity is 5500 g and a commercial quantity is 275 kg. 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. Its thresholds are the largest in the whole table, 5500 g and 275 kg, which reflects that the controlled article is bulk plant material rather than an isolated drug. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Fresh or dried leaf is not a dispensed medicine, and India has no prescription or cultural exemption for it.
Documentation: India lists the leaf itself, not only its alkaloids, which is unusual: cathinone at serial 77 and cathine at serial 94 are separate entries again. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110X, inserted by S.O. 1352(E) of 13 March 2019 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238ZG · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Khat in India, full detail →

Kratom

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Neither the tree, Mitragyna speciosa, nor its alkaloids are printed in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification. The only plant the Schedule places is Catha edulis at serial 110X.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. India exports kratom in commercial volume, so the realistic legal risk sits at the destination country's border rather than at India's. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is traded as a botanical rather than as a medicine, so there is no Indian prescription to carry for it.
Documentation: India is an exporter of kratom rather than a jurisdiction that controls it, and section 81 saves any State Act that imposes a restriction the central Act does not; State law is not read here. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for kratom, mitragyna, speciosa, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Kratom in India, full detail →

Lorazepam

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «56 LORAZEPAM 7-Chloro-5-(0-chlorophenyl)-1, 3-dihydro-3hydroxy-2H-1, 4-benzodiazepin-2-one», at serial 56 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 210: a small quantity is 10 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. Its 10 g and 250 g sit between alprazolam and diazepam, which is a reminder that the benzodiazepine class carries no single Indian figure. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription medicine; carry the prescription and the original packaging, and keep tablets in the dispensing container.
Documentation: The quantity notification prints the name as Lorazeram at serial 210, a typographical form, and the chemical name column identifies it. It is also a Schedule H1 drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian pharmacy must keep a record of the sale. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 56 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 210 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Lorazepam in India, full detail →

LSA (Morning Glory)

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Lysergide is placed at serial 4 by the chemical name N,N-diethyllysergamide. Ergine is the unsubstituted amide, a different compound, and it is absent from the 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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Seeds sold for horticulture are commonly treated with a fungicide, which is a separate hazard and not a legal one. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Morning glory and Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds are sold as garden seed rather than as medicine, so no prescription applies.
Documentation: Lysergic acid and its salts are in Schedules A, B and C of the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 as a precursor, which is a different regime with a different offence and no quantity bands. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for lysergamide, ergine, lysergic acid amide, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

LSA (Morning Glory) in India, full detail →

LSD

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «4 (+)-LYSERGIDE LSD, LSD-25 (+) N, N-diethyllysergamide (d-lysergic acid diethylamide)», at serial 4 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 133: a small quantity is 0.002 g and a commercial quantity is 0.1 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. LSD is one of the substances in the section 31A table, at 500 g, a figure so far above the commercial threshold that the repeat-offender route is remote for a traveller. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has no Indian medical use and no research exemption that a traveller could rely on.
Documentation: A commercial quantity is 0.1 g, the smallest figure in the table apart from the fentanyl analogues, and the notification applies it to the whole article rather than to the pure drug content, so blotter paper counts. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 4 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 133 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

LSD in India, full detail →

MDA

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «15 MDA 3,4,-methylenedioxy amphetamine», at serial 15 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 148: a small quantity is 0.5 g and a commercial quantity is 10 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. N-ethyl MDA and N-hydroxy MDA are separate Schedule entries at 83 and 84, on the same figures. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: No medicine anywhere contains it, so a prescription cannot exist for it.
Documentation: The quantity notification prints it under its international non-proprietary name Tenamfetamine at serial 148, so a search for MDA alone in the first column finds nothing. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 15 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 148 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

MDA in India, full detail →

MDMA

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «80 MDMA (+/-)-N, a-dimethyl-3. 4-(methylene-dioxy) phenethylamine», at serial 80 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 134: a small quantity is 0.5 g and a commercial quantity is 10 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. Methylone, the beta-keto analogue, sits at Schedule serial 110J on figures fifteen times looser, 7.5 g and 375 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: India runs no MDMA-assisted therapy programme, so a foreign clinical trial supply has no standing at the border.
Documentation: A commercial quantity of 10 g applies to the whole tablet mass, not to the MDMA content, so a few dozen pressed tablets can reach the top band. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 80 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 134 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

MDMA in India, full detail →

MDPV

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110I MDPV 3, 4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (R/S)-1-(Benzo[d][1,3] dioxol-5-yl)-2-(pyrolidin-1-yl) pentan-1-one», at serial 110I of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238N: a small quantity is 0.5 g and a commercial quantity is 25 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. Alpha-PVP and alpha-PiHP, two later members of the same family, were added at 110L and 110ZZD with tighter figures again. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has no medical use in any pharmacopoeia and no Indian prescription route.
Documentation: Pyrovalerone, its parent, is a separate and much older entry at Schedule serial 102 and quantity serial 232. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110I, inserted by S.O. 376(E) of 5 February 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238N · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

MDPV in India, full detail →

Memantine

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Memantine appears nowhere in the instruments read. The adamantane skeleton is absent from the Schedule entirely.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Nothing in the dissociative group reaches it: phencyclidine at serial 22, 3-methoxyphencyclidine at 110ZW and diphenidine at 110ZX are all placed, and memantine shares no skeleton with any of them. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription medicine for dementia; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: Phencyclidine at serial 22 and the later dissociatives at 110ZW and 110ZX are placed by name, and memantine is chemically unrelated to any of them. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for memantine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Memantine in India, full detail →

Mephedrone (4-MMC)

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110B MEPHEDRONE 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC) 4-methylephedrone (RS-2-methylamino-1-(4-methylphenyl) propan-1-one)», at serial 110B of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238F: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. Its ring isomers are priced differently: 3-MMC at 7.5 g and 375 g, 4-CMC at 5 g and 250 g, 3-CMC at 5 g and 250 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has no medical use, and the precursor trade that India does license is a manufacturing matter and not a prescription route.
Documentation: It is placed by the Act's Schedule and not by the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013, which is a precursor regime: no precursor specific to mephedrone appears in that Order's Schedules A, B or C as this consolidation prints them. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110B, inserted by S.O. 376(E) of 5 February 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238F · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Mephedrone (4-MMC) in India, full detail →

Mescaline

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «5 meascaline 3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenethylamine», at serial 5 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 135: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 100 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. TMA, the alpha-methyl homologue, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 86 and quantity serial 151, at 0.5 g and 10 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has no Indian medical use, and no ceremonial exemption exists of the kind a few other countries recognise.
Documentation: The Schedule prints the name as meascaline, a typographical form, in the other non-proprietary name column; the chemical name identifies it. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 5 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 135 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Mescaline in India, full detail →

Methadone

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 «4:4-diphenyl-6-dimethylamino-heptanone-3 (otherwise known as 6-dimethyl amino 4:4-diphenyl-3-heptanone and as Methadone) and its salts... and preparations, admixtures, extracts or other substances containing any of these drugs», in S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 68: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. Methadone intermediate is a separate article at quantity serial 69 on the same two figures. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an essential narcotic drug supplied through recognised substitution centres; a take-home dose should travel with its prescription and be declared at customs.
Documentation: Methadone maintenance is provided in India through recognised opioid substitution centres rather than by ordinary retail prescription, so a traveller carrying a take-home dose should expect to have to document it. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xi), 2(xiv) and 21, with S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 68 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Methadone in India, full detail →

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «19 METHAMPHETAMINE (+)-2-Methyeamino-1-phenylpropane», at serial 19 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 159: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1,500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Methamphetamine is one of the four psychotropic substances in the section 31A table, at 1,500 g, thirty times its 50 g commercial quantity. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: There is no ordinary Indian prescription route for it, and no foreign prescription for it will be recognised here.
Documentation: The racemate and the levo isomer are listed separately at Schedule serials 90 and 89 and at quantity serials 160 and 157, all on the same two figures. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 19 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 159 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Methamphetamine in India, full detail →

Methaqualone (Quaaludes)

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «20 METHAQUALONE 2-Methyl-3-0-tolyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone», at serial 20 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 161: a small quantity is 20 g and a commercial quantity is 500 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1,500 g, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Mecloqualone is a separate entry at Schedule serial 18 and quantity serial 158, on the same two figures. The Schedule follows the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which is where these entries came from. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It was withdrawn from medical use decades ago, so no prescription for it exists anywhere.
Documentation: India was a significant source of illicit methaqualone for the southern African market, which is why it is one of the four psychotropic substances the section 31A table names at all. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 20 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 161 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Methaqualone (Quaaludes) in India, full detail →

Methylone

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110J METHYLONE Beta-keto-MDMA (RS)-2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl) propan-1-one», at serial 110J of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238-O: a small quantity is 7.5 g and a commercial quantity is 375 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. Ethylone, its N-ethyl homologue, is looser again at 20 g and 1000 g, quantity serial 238Z. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It has no medical use and no Indian prescription route.
Documentation: Its thresholds are fifteen times looser than MDMA's, although the two are one carbonyl apart. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110J, inserted by S.O. 376(E) of 5 February 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238-O · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Methylone in India, full detail →

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «21 METHYLPHENIDATE 2-Phenyl-2(2-piperidyl) acetic acid, methyl ester», at serial 21 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 162: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. Ethylphenidate, its designer relative, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 110S and quantity serial 238ZB at 0.2 g and 10 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an Indian prescription medicine for attention deficit disorder; carry the prescription and the original packaging, and bring only the supply the trip needs.
Documentation: A commercial quantity of 50 g is about 2,500 tablets of 20 mg, so a patient supply is nowhere near it, but the figure applies to the whole tablet mass rather than the drug content. It also sits in Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian pharmacy needs a special licence and must retain the prescription. That marker is not printed in the quoted extract from the NDPS instruments: it belongs to the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, a separate regime that section 80 preserves alongside this Act. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 21 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 162 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Methylphenidate in India, full detail →

Mitragynine

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. The alkaloid is absent from the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order and the quantity notification, and so is the tree it comes from.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Where an extract is standardised to a high mitragynine content it is still botanical material, and no Indian instrument gives it a small or commercial quantity. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is sold as a botanical extract, not as a licensed medicine, so there is no prescription to carry.
Documentation: The Schedule does place one indolic alkaloid of plant origin, etryptamine at serial 105A, so the absence of mitragynine is a choice rather than an oversight of the whole class. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for mitragynine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Mitragynine in India, full detail →

Modafinil

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Modafinil appears nowhere in the instruments read.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Indian manufacturers export it in bulk under ordinary drug licences, and it is a Schedule H prescription drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so selling it without a prescription is an offence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and not a narcotics one. That marker is not printed in the quoted extract from the NDPS instruments, because it belongs to a different regime. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription medicine for narcolepsy and shift-work sleep disorder; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: The wakefulness-promoting agents the Schedule does place are older stimulants such as mazindol at serial 58, pemoline at 101 and fencamfamin at 97, none of which is modafinil. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for modafinil, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Modafinil in India, full detail →

Morphine

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «"opium derivative" means... phenanthrene alkaloids, namely, morphine, codeine, thebaine and their salts... and all preparations containing more than 0.2 per cent. of morphine», at section 2(xvi)(c) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 77: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 1 kg, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Morphine is one of the three substances section 27 names expressly, so consumption carries the higher consumption band. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an essential narcotic drug; carry the prescription with the original packaging and declare it at customs, and expect a palliative supply to be documented closely.
Documentation: The 2014 amendment created the essential narcotic drug category so that palliative morphine could move under a single central licence instead of several State ones, and S.O. 1181(E) covers morphine and all preparations containing more than 0.2 per cent. of it. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xvi)(c) and 21, with S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 77 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Morphine in India, full detail →

MXE

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110N Methoxetamine, MXE 2-(ethylamino)-2-(3-methoxyphenyl) cyclohexanone», at serial 110N of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238U: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. Its thresholds are half ketamine's, and 2-fluorodeschloroketamine, added in 2025, matches them exactly. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It was sold as a research chemical and never as a medicine, so no prescription exists for it.
Documentation: It was added by S.O. 376(E) of 5 February 2015, in the same batch as mephedrone and MDPV. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110N, inserted by S.O. 376(E) of 5 February 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238U · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

MXE in India, full detail →

Nicotine

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Nicotine appears nowhere in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification. What prohibits an electronic nicotine delivery system in India is a different Act. The Act covers heat-not-burn products and e-hookahs with no personal-use exception.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. The 2019 prohibition on electronic nicotine delivery systems carries its own penalties and they are not NDPS penalties. The figures carried forward from the entry this cell replaces are up to 1 year or a fine up to 100,000 rupees or both for a first offence of production, import, sale, transport or advertisement, up to 3 years and 500,000 rupees for a repeat offence, and up to 6 months or 50,000 rupees for mere storage, all attributed to the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act 41 of 2019; that Act was not read here and those three figures rest on the earlier entry rather than on the statute. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Nicotine replacement products are sold in India as medicines, but electronic delivery systems are prohibited outright by a separate 2019 Act.
Documentation: India banned electronic nicotine delivery systems by a separate Act in 2019 and regulates tobacco products under its own tobacco control Act; that Act reaches heat-not-burn products and e-hookahs with no personal-use exception, and neither Act is part of the NDPS regime or is read here. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for nicotine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Nicotine in India, full detail →

Nimetazepam

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «63 NIMETAZEPAM 1,3 Dihydro-1 methyl-7 nitro-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one», at serial 63 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 220: a small quantity is 10 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. Nimetazepam is not marketed in India at all, so any quantity found here is by definition outside a lawful supply chain. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is not marketed in India, so a foreign prescription for it is the only documentation a traveller could hold and it carries no weight here.
Documentation: Nitrazepam, its des-methyl relative, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 64 and quantity serial 221, on looser figures of 20 g and 500 g. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 63 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 220 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Nimetazepam in India, full detail →

Nitrous Oxide

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Nitrous oxide appears nowhere in the instruments read. The only anaesthetic the Schedule places is ketamine at serial 110A.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. A canister bought for culinary use is an ordinary article of commerce in India, and the exposure a traveller faces is a food or gas safety matter rather than a narcotics one. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is a medical and dental anaesthetic gas in India, governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, which applies alongside the NDPS Act by force of section 80.
Documentation: Its industrial and food uses are regulated as a gas and as a food additive rather than as a drug, and those regimes are not read here. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for nitrous oxide, nitrous, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Nitrous Oxide in India, full detail →

Opium

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «"opium" means the coagulated juice of the opium poppy; and any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of the coagulated juice of the opium poppy, but does not include any preparation containing not more than 0.2 per cent. of morphine», at section 2(xv) of the Act.
Consequences if caught: Section 18 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to opium poppy and opium 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 92: a small quantity is 25 g and a commercial quantity is 2.5 kg. 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 adds a discretionary death penalty, and it reaches this row: the table names it at 10 kg, and only after a previous conviction under section 19, 24 or 27A or for a commercial quantity, on a later conviction for production, manufacture, possession, transport, import, export or transhipment at or above that figure. Since 2014 the words are punishment not less than section 31 or with death, so death is available and not mandatory. Poppy straw is a separate article at quantity serial 110, 1000 g and 50 kg, and concentrate of poppy straw a third at serial 30, 20 g and 500 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Raw opium has no dispensed form, and the licensed Indian crop moves under cultivation licences rather than prescriptions.
Documentation: India licenses opium poppy cultivation in notified tracts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh under an annual General Conditions notification, and an unlicensed cultivator faces section 18 rather than a lesser offence. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xv) and 18 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 92 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Opium in India, full detail →

Oxycodone

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 «Dihydroxy Codeinone (commonly known as Oxy-codone and Dihydroxycodeinone), its salts... its esters and the salts of its esters and preparations, admixtures, extracts or other substances containing any of these drugs», in S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015.
Consequences if caught: Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations 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 94: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. Oxymorphone is a separate article at quantity serial 95 on the same two figures. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an essential narcotic drug; carry the prescription with the original packaging and declare it at customs.
Documentation: The notification names it as Dihydroxy Codeinone with the brand list Eucodal, Nucodan, Percodan and the like, which is how it can be missed by a search for the modern spelling. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, sections 2(xi), 2(xiv) and 21, with S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 94 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Oxycodone in India, full detail →

PCP

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «22 PHENCYCLIDINE PCP 1-(1-Phenylcyclohexyl) piperidine», at serial 22 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 163: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. 3-Methoxyphencyclidine and diphenidine, later dissociatives, were added at 110ZW and 110ZX with figures of 0.1 g and 5 g and 2 g and 100 g. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It was withdrawn from human and veterinary use long ago, so no prescription for it exists.
Documentation: Three near relatives are listed separately: eticyclidine at serial 7, rolicyclidine at 8 and tenocyclidine at 12, each on the same figures. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 22 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 163 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

PCP in India, full detail →

Peyote

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 «5 meascaline 3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenethylamine», at serial 5 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 135: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 100 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. India does name one plant directly, Catha edulis at serial 110X, which shows that naming a plant is something the Schedule does when it means to. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: A dried cactus button is not a dispensed medicine, and India recognises no ceremonial exemption for it.
Documentation: Lophophora williamsii appears nowhere in the Indian instruments. The placement rests on the mescaline the cactus contains; Schedule serial 111 carries salts and preparations of the listed substances. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serials 5 and 111 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 135 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Peyote in India, full detail →

Phenibut

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Phenibut appears nowhere in the instruments read. GHB is placed at serial 108 by its own chemical name and phenibut is a different compound with a phenyl ring and an amine rather than a hydroxyl.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Because it is neither a medicine nor a placed substance, a traveller carrying it has no documentation that fits and no offence to answer under this Act. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It has no Indian marketing authorisation, and the supplement packaging it arrives in is not a prescription.
Documentation: It is sold in India through the supplement trade, which is a food regime rather than a drug regime, and neither is part of the NDPS Act. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for phenibut, phenyl-gaba, aminomethyl, fenibut, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Phenibut in India, full detail →

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «106 2C-B (4-bromo-2, 5 dimethoxyphenethylamine); 110A KETAMINE; 80 MDMA», at serial 106, 110A and 80 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 153, 238E and 134: a small quantity is 0.5 g for 2C-B, 10 g for ketamine and 0.5 g for MDMA and a commercial quantity is 10 g for 2C-B, 500 g for ketamine and 10 g for MDMA. 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. Where the powder is a mixture, quantity serial 239 applies the lesser of the figures given against the constituents, and note 4 of the notification applies them to the whole mixture rather than the pure drug content. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: Nothing sold under this label is a medicine, and a traveller cannot document a powder whose contents are unknown.
Documentation: The name is a market label for a powder rather than one substance, and Indian analyses of seized samples usually find ketamine, MDMA, caffeine or a mixture rather than 2C-B. Each constituent has its own Schedule entry and its own pair of figures, so the band depends on what is in the sample. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serials 106, 110A and 80, and the quantity notification serial 239 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 153, 238E and 134 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Pink Cocaine / Tusi in India, full detail →

Poppers

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. The word is a market label for alkyl nitrites sold as a liquid inhalant. No alkyl nitrite of any kind is printed in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification, so the label has no NDPS placement at all.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. What can reach a bottle of poppers in India is drug import law under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and customs, not the NDPS Act. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: They are sold as room odourisers rather than as medicines, so no prescription exists and drug import law is what reaches a bottle of them.
Documentation: Because the label is not one substance, the answer has to be given member by member; the members are isobutyl, isopropyl, isoamyl and amyl nitrite, and none is named. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for poppers, isobutyl nitrite, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Poppers in India, full detail →

Pregabalin

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Pregabalin appears nowhere in the instruments read.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Its Schedule H1 status under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act means a pharmacy must record the sale, which is a dispensing control and carries no NDPS consequence. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription medicine for neuropathic pain; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: It sits in Schedule H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, which requires a prescription record at the pharmacy; that is a dispensing control and not a criminal drug placement. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for pregabalin, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Pregabalin in India, full detail →

Psilocybin

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «10 PSILOCYBINE 3-(2-Dimethylaminoeth)-indol-4-yl dihydrogen phosphate», at serial 10 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 145: a small quantity is 2 g and a commercial quantity is 50 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. The Schedule places the chemicals and not the mushroom, unlike the khat entry at 110X which places the leaf itself. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: India runs no psilocybin therapy programme, so a foreign trial supply has no standing at the border.
Documentation: Psilocin, the active metabolite, is a separate entry at Schedule serial 9 and quantity serial 144, on the same two figures, so both the prodrug and the product are placed. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 10 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 145 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Psilocybin in India, full detail →

Quetiapine

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Quetiapine appears nowhere in the instruments read. The Schedule places sedatives such as meprobamate at serial 60, methyprylon at 62 and glutethimide at 26, and no antipsychotic of any kind.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. It is widely dispensed in India under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, so a traveller who runs short can usually be prescribed it locally rather than needing to carry a large supply. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription antipsychotic; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: No atypical antipsychotic is placed by the NDPS Act, so the regime that governs it is the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, which section 80 preserves alongside. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for quetiapine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Quetiapine in India, full detail →

Salvia divinorum

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Neither the plant nor salvinorin A is printed in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. The practical risk is that a product sold as salvia contains a placed synthetic cannabinoid instead, and those carry thresholds in hundredths of a gram. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Dried leaf is not a dispensed medicine and no Indian prescription route exists for it.
Documentation: India has no blanket new psychoactive substances offence of the kind several other jurisdictions use to reach this plant, so the closed list is the whole answer at central level. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for salvia, salvinorin, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Salvia divinorum in India, full detail →

Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Scopolamine appears nowhere in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification. The only tropane the instruments place is cocaine, through the coca derivative definition in section 2(v).
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Hyoscine butylbromide and hyoscine hydrobromide are dispensed in India as Schedule H prescription drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and its Rules, a marker that is not printed in the quoted extract from the NDPS instruments, so selling them without a prescription is a medicines offence, and where the drug is used criminally as a sedative the charge comes from the general criminal law rather than from this Act. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription and over-the-counter medicine for motion sickness; carry the packaging, and patches are widely available locally.
Documentation: Hyoscine butylbromide is one of the most widely sold antispasmodics in India, which is a practical reason its absence from the NDPS lists is unsurprising. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for scopolamine, hyoscine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Scopolamine (Devil's Breath) in India, full detail →

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110G JWH-018; 110H AM-2201; 110U MDMB-CHMICA; 110V 5F-APINACA; 110W XLR-11; 110Z AB-CHMINACA; 110ZA 5F-ADB; 110ZB AB-PINACA; 110ZC UR-144; 110ZD 5F-PB-22; 110ZP ADB-FUBINACA; 110ZR CUMYL-4CNBINACA; 110ZU CUMYLPEGACLONE; 110ZV MDMB-4en-PINACA», at serial 110G, 110H, 110U, 110V, 110W, 110Z, 110ZA to 110ZD, 110ZG to 110ZI and 110ZP to 110ZV of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238L, 238M, 238ZD to 238ZF and 238ZO to 238ZZG: a small quantity is 0.002 g to 1 g and a commercial quantity is 0.1 g to 50 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. The figures differ by two orders of magnitude across the family, from MDMB-CHMICA at 0.01 g and 0.5 g to XLR-11 at 1 g and 50 g, so the band depends on which compound it is. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: None of them is a licensed medicine anywhere, so no prescription covers any member of the family.
Documentation: The label covers many substances and India schedules them one at a time: at least twenty separate entries, from JWH-018 in 2016 to MDMB-4en-PINACA in 2022. There is no generic or analogue clause, so a compound outside the printed list is outside the Schedule until a notification adds it. These are chemical placements and have nothing to do with the plant-form cannabis definition, which reaches charas and ganja and leaves bhang outside. Each addition followed the compound's arrival in the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances or an Indian assessment of its abuse. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule, the synthetic cannabinoid entries from serial 110G onward · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238L, 238M, 238ZD to 238ZF and 238ZO to 238ZZG · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice) in India, full detail →

THC-P

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Schedule serials 13 and 91 enumerate tetrahydrocannabinol isomers, and every chemical name printed there carries a 3-pentyl side chain. THC-P carries a heptyl chain, so it is not among the enumerated isomers and is not a stereochemical variant of one.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. A vape sold as THC-P frequently also contains delta-8 or delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, and those are placed at serials 13 and 91 on 2 g and 50 g. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: No medicine is licensed on it in India or elsewhere, so a vape bought abroad carries no documentation that helps.
Documentation: Hexahydrocannabinol needed an express new entry, serial 110ZZJ, on 18 February 2026, which shows that a cannabinoid outside the enumerated isomers is outside the Schedule until it is added by name. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for thc-p, tetrahydrocannabiphorol, heptyl, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

THC-P in India, full detail →

Tobacco

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Neither tobacco nor Nicotiana appears in the Act's Schedule, the NDPS Rules, the 2013 Order or the quantity notification.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Chewing tobacco and gutkha are prohibited outright in several Indian States under food law, which is the restriction a traveller is most likely to meet. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It is not a dispensed medicine; what governs carrying it is India's tobacco control Act and its packaging rules, and several States prohibit chewing products outright.
Documentation: Tobacco in India is governed by its own 2003 tobacco control Act and by food law for chewing products, and several States prohibit gutkha outright; none of that is the NDPS regime and none of it is read here. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for tobacco, nicotiana, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Tobacco in India, full detail →

Tramadol

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «110Y Tramadol», at serial 110Y of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238ZH: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. A commercial quantity of 250 g is about 2,500 capsules of 100 mg, and the figure applies to the whole preparation rather than the drug content. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription analgesic; carry the prescription and the original packaging, and do not rely on its former over-the-counter status.
Documentation: It was added to the Schedule by S.O. 1761(E) of 26 April 2018 and priced by S.O. 1762(E) the same day, after a period in which it was sold widely over the counter. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 110Y, inserted by S.O. 1761(E) of 26 April 2018 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238ZH · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Tramadol in India, full detail →

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «30 ALPRAZOLAM 8-Chloro-1-methyl-6-phenyl-4H-s-triazolo [4,3-a] [1,4] benzodiazepine», at serial 30 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 178: a small quantity is 5 g and a commercial quantity is 100 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. Alprazolam is one of the tighter benzodiazepine entries: 5 g and 100 g, against diazepam's 20 g and 500 g, so the same blister count can sit in a different band depending on which tablet it is. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an Indian prescription medicine and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 applies alongside the NDPS Act, which section 80 preserves expressly; carry the prescription and the original packaging.
Documentation: A month of 0.5 mg tablets is a fraction of a gram, so an ordinary patient supply sits far below the 5 g small-quantity line. It is also a Schedule H1 drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian pharmacy must keep a record of the sale. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 30 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 178 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Xanax (Alprazolam) in India, full detail →

Xylazine

Legal status: No Indian placement was found for it: it is not named in the Act's Schedule (list of psychotropic substances), in the NDPS Rules 1985, in the Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 or in the small and commercial quantity notification. Xylazine appears nowhere in the instruments read. It is a veterinary sedative and the Schedule places no veterinary sedative of this class.
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. No band applies to this row, because the quantity notification carries no entry against which a small or commercial quantity could be measured. 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. Its practical Indian exposure is as a veterinary supply offence, and a traveller is unlikely to encounter it except as an adulterant in something else. Those figures are given because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as India's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.
If prescribed / medical: It has no Indian human marketing authorisation; it is a veterinary medicine and its supply is governed by drug law rather than by the NDPS Act.
Documentation: Where it appears in a street mixture with an opioid, the opioid supplies the placement and quantity serial 239 prices the mixture at the lesser of the constituents' figures. 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 absence 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule (list of psychotropic substances) · NDPS Rules 1985 · Regulation of Controlled Substances Order 2013 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) · searched by name and by chemical synonym across all 264 pages of that consolidation for xylazine, with no match · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Xylazine in India, full detail →

Zolpidem

Legal status: Controlled in India. The matched entry reads «109 Zolpidem (INN)», at serial 109 of the Act's Schedule, the list of psychotropic substances.
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 238: a small quantity is 10 g and a commercial quantity is 250 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. A 250 g commercial quantity is roughly 25,000 tablets of 10 mg, so an ordinary supply is far below it, but the figure is measured on the whole tablet. It is also a Schedule H1 drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, so an Indian retail sale must be entered in a separate register. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.
If prescribed / medical: It is an ordinary Indian prescription hypnotic; carry the prescription and the original packaging, and bring only the supply the trip needs.
Documentation: The Schedule prints it as Zolpidem (INN) in the chemical name column, with both name columns left blank. Its placement is consistent with the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, where zolpidem sits in Schedule IV; that Schedule IV marker is a Convention division and is not printed in the quoted extract from the Indian Schedule. 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.

NDPS Act 1985, the Schedule serial 109 · quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) serial 238 · Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, sections 2, 3 and 8, section 3 being the power under which the Central Government adds to or omits from the psychotropic Schedule by Official Gazette notification · the offence and sentencing provisions read for this cell are sections 15 to 27, with sections 31, 31A, 37, 64A, 80 and 81 · enforcement is by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), under the Department of Revenue · Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules 1985 labelled updated 2026, which prints the Act's Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025 · the Schedule as it stands after S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026 · small and commercial quantity notification S.O. 1055(E) of 19 October 2001 as amended through S.O. 1731(E) of 16 April 2025 · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · cbn.gov.in · dor.gov.in · indiacode.nic.in · the publisher's own acts and rules page was read at that address on 22 September 2026 and lists no later amendment of the Schedule, which does not rule out a later notification made or commenced since. · Updated September 21, 2026

Zolpidem in India, full detail →

Not individually verified

1 substance is not individually verified for India

For these the governing national drug law is cited, but we have not verified that the substance specifically is scheduled under it. Treat them as unanswered, not as legal. Confirm with India’s drug authority or your embassy.

Substance	What we found
4-AcO-DMT	Not confirmed. The name does not appear in any Indian instrument read, and whether the ester of a listed...

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

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