Yes, weed is illegal in India for recreational use. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 (NDPS Act) prohibits charas (cannabis resin, including hashish) and ganja (the flowering tops of the plant), and penalties run from six months in prison for consumption to a mandatory minimum of ten years for commercial quantities.1India Code. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 The law carves out one major exception: bhang, made from the leaves and seeds, sits outside the Act’s definition of cannabis and is sold legally in much of the country.
What Is Banned and What Isn’t
The NDPS Act does not ban the cannabis plant as a whole. It targets specific parts. “Cannabis (hemp)” under the Act covers two categories, plus any mixture or drink made from them:
- Charas, the separated resin in any form, including hashish and cannabis extracts and tinctures.
- Ganja, the flowering or fruiting tops of the plant, but not the seeds and leaves when they come without the tops.
Cultivating cannabis, producing, possessing, selling, buying, transporting, importing, or exporting charas or ganja is prohibited unless the government has specifically authorized it.1India Code. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Consuming them is a separate offense on top of that.
Bhang escapes the ban because the Act’s definition of ganja explicitly excludes seeds and leaves when the flowering tops aren’t present.2Indian Kanoon. Section 2 in The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Government-licensed bhang shops operate openly in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, and bhang flows freely at festivals like Holi and Maha Shivaratri. Gujarat removed bhang from its list of intoxicating substances in 2017. State laws vary, though. Assam bans bhang under its own Ganja and Bhang Prohibition Act, and several northeastern states take a similarly restrictive line. Where you are in India matters as much as what you have.
Weight Thresholds That Decide Your Penalty
Quantity drives everything under the NDPS Act, and the cutoffs for ganja and charas are not the same. The Central Government has notified these weights:3Central Bureau of Narcotics. Notification Specifying Small Quantity and Commercial Quantity
- Ganja: small quantity up to 1,000 grams (1 kg); commercial quantity starts at 20 kg.
- Charas (including hashish, resin, extracts, and tinctures): small quantity up to 100 grams; commercial quantity starts at 1 kg.
Anything in between is treated as an “intermediate quantity.” The gap matters. Someone caught with 150 grams of ganja is still inside the small-quantity band. Someone caught with 150 grams of charas has already crossed the commercial threshold and is looking at a mandatory ten-year sentence. The tenfold difference between the two substances surprises a lot of people.
Penalties for Possession and Trafficking
Section 20 of the NDPS Act sets out the penalties for cannabis offenses other than personal consumption. After the 2014 amendment, the tiers work like this:4Indian Kanoon. Section 20 in The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
- Small quantity: rigorous imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to ₹10,000, or both.
- Intermediate quantity: rigorous imprisonment up to ten years, plus a fine up to ₹1,00,000.
- Commercial quantity: rigorous imprisonment for a minimum of ten years and a maximum of twenty, plus a fine of at least ₹1,00,000 that can extend to ₹2,00,000. Courts can impose higher fines if they record their reasons in the judgment.5National Judicial Academy. Sentencing Policy and the NDPS Act 2017
The commercial tier is where the law turns genuinely severe. A ten-year floor with no judicial discretion to go lower means a first-time offender caught with more than 1 kg of charas or 20 kg of ganja is going to prison for at least a decade.
Penalties for Personal Consumption
Using cannabis is punished separately under Section 27 of the NDPS Act. Cannabis falls under clause (b), covering substances other than cocaine, morphine, heroin, and certain specified drugs. The penalty is imprisonment up to six months, a fine up to ₹10,000, or both.1India Code. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
That is lighter than the possession penalties under Section 20, but a Section 27 charge depends on showing that the cannabis was for personal use. If you cannot establish that, the stiffer Section 20 tiers kick in based on how much you were carrying.
Bail and the Treatment Route
Section 37 makes bail difficult for commercial-quantity offenses. A court can grant bail only after the prosecution has had a chance to oppose it and only if the court is satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and will not commit further offenses on bail. For small and intermediate quantities, the ordinary bail provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure apply, and these are considerably more lenient.
Section 64A offers something most people never hear about. If you are charged with consumption under Section 27, or with a small-quantity offense, and you voluntarily enter a government-recognized treatment facility, you cannot be prosecuted for that offense. The immunity is withdrawn if you don’t complete the full course of treatment.6India Code. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – Section 64A
Rules for Foreign Travelers
The NDPS Act applies to everyone on Indian soil. There is no tourist exemption, and no allowance for visitors from countries where cannabis is legal at home. A foreign national caught with ganja or charas faces the same penalties as an Indian citizen, with deportation and a future-entry ban stacked on top.
Bringing cannabis-based medication into India is risky even with a valid foreign prescription. Medicines containing substances controlled under the NDPS Act require specific NDPS Import Permission from the Narcotics Commissioner of India. Carrying them without that permission can trigger drug trafficking charges. Even non-cannabis controlled medications are capped at a 30-day supply under Customs Baggage Rules, must stay in original pharmacy packaging, and must match the passport holder’s name on the prescription. If you rely on prescribed cannabis medication, the safer path is to speak to the Indian embassy or consulate before you travel and look at alternatives that can cover your stay.
Narrow Legal Paths That Do Exist
A few corners of the law allow cannabis in controlled forms, but none of them legalize recreational use.
Hemp seed foods are regulated by FSSAI, which has set THC caps for hemp seeds and flour, hemp seed oil, and hemp seed beverages.7FSSAI. Hemp Seeds and Seed Products – Chapter 2 Food Product Standards CBD oil sits in a gray zone: products marketed for therapeutic or oral use generally need a prescription and must comply with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, and anything with THC above the permitted level or sold without proper licensing risks NDPS Act penalties.
Section 14 of the NDPS Act lets state governments permit cannabis cultivation for industrial fiber, seed, or horticulture.1India Code. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Uttarakhand was among the first to use it, and Himachal Pradesh launched an industrial hemp program in late 2025 with a 0.3% THC cap.8DD News. Himachal Pradesh Starts Cultivation of Industrial Hemp These are licensed agricultural schemes, not permission for individuals to grow their own.
Medical cannabis is permitted in principle under the Act’s medical-and-scientific-use provisions, but access is tightly controlled. Practitioners of Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha who want to prescribe cannabis-containing medicines must get pre-approval from their State Drug Licensing Authority and follow classical references along with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the NDPS Act, and state rules.9National Commission for Indian System of Medicine. Advisory for Practitioners of the Indian System of Medicine Regarding the Use of Cannabis-Containing Drugs Research use needs separate state and central licensing. There is no general medical cannabis card system comparable to programs in other countries.