Is Weed Legal in India? A Look at India's Tryst with Cannabis and When it Was Banned

On Tuesday, actor Rhea Chakraborty was arrested by NCB under various sections of the NDPS. The Narcotics Control Bureau has been investigating the possible role of drugs in the SSR death case following allegations against actor and Rajput’s reported girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty giving him drugs such as marijuana, which is an illegal substance in India. The world’s outlook toward weed changed after the international treaty ‘Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs’ – influenced by the American outlook on the usage and harmful effects of marijuana – categorized weed along with other harmful, hard drugs. In 1985, India passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 1985 which continued to criminalise cannabis in the form of buds or resin while allowing the sale of bhang – a byproduct of cannabis that is still heavily consumed on festivals like Holi and Shivratri. While calls for legalising weed have gained momentum over the past few decades in India, the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and the consequent media trial of Rhea Chakraborty based on their alleged consumption of weed has once again raised questions about the criminal status of weed.