THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY NISHKA TYAGI, A STUDENT OF ILS LAW COLLEGE, PUNE.

India has had many crime instances, cases, and suicides involving drug use, with individuals ranging from teenagers to older women and men. It’s been one of the biggest problems that arose throughout the 20 ^{century. It was a problem} century, and it must be managed and dealt with through a law that governs. The Opium Act of 1857 and The Dangerous Drugs Act of 1930 were enacted in the same manner but did not prove to be efficient; after a lot of discussions and debates, the first legitimate Act, The Narcotics, Drugs, and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985(hereinafter known as the NDPS Act) was passed. From now on, the main reason behind the passage of this law was to meet its obligations in accordance with the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. The Act concentrates on issues with regard to trafficking, consumption, and abetment, the proper procedure for arrest and seizure, competent authorities, the number of drugs that can be sold, important narcotics used in medicine, and more. A strict penalty has been established for all offenses, with prison period ranging from 6 months to 30 years under Chapter IV. Act and even death in certain cases in accordance with subsection 31(1) of the Act. The Act offers some relief to those suspect in the form immunity from prosecution, suspects, and reduction of sentence. The Act, which was in effect for 30 years ago in 2015, also saw three changes since its creation which was in the years 1988, 2001, and most recently, in 2014.

Information from Narcotics Bureau Reports for the period of 2015-February 2016 indicates that the total number of cases connected to the seizure of a variety of substances was 15814, and in 2014, 13251 cases were reported. the. The number of people arrested was 330 from the period from 2015 to February. [1] The most recent data percent of those who use drugs was from the survey conducted in 2001-2002, where 73.2 million people were dependent on alcohol and drugs, which showed that 26 percent and 22% were dependent on Cannabis or Opium in the respective cases. [2] However, the government is making initiatives in training programs including drug kits, and laying up proper pro,cedures and adding secs like section 4, which states that the Act establishes specific organizations to improve the execution in the Act and 71 in which it could establish of diction, centers, and allow other organizations to develop them as well. The question is, even after having all of these provisions and provisions, has the Act proved to be effective over the last three decades in reducing, or even fighting with, the rising drug-related problems in India? Was it efficient enough to stop the scourge of addiction even to a certain degree?

The NDPS was like an air freshener at a moment when there was a pressing need for legislation to address the drug-related criminal legislation growing in India. The Act provides definitions for almost every drug that could be considered an narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, such as opium, cannabis, ganja, and many more, as well as definitions such as addict, board, manufacture of the narcotic drug, essential drug, etc. It also provides directions to authorities of the Central government to designate the position of a Narcotics Commissioner, to set up an Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and consultative Committee, and to establish the National Fund for Contro of Drug Abuse. Different offenses have been enacted according to the Act, such as trafficking, harboring consumption, and disposing of by cultivators; strict penalties are provided for those as well, ranging between 6 months and 30 years. It also provides the possibility of a death sentence in the discretion of judges. Through the amendment, the Act tried to address the shortcomings, such as changing the punishments to be less severe, including essential narcotics, and permitting organizations to open centers for addiction treatment, and so on.. Established bodies such as that of Narcotic.Drugs Fund, Narcotics Commisthe  Narcotics Control Bureau to achieve the objectives and responsibilities established under the NDPS Act. The Act hasn’t yielded delivered the outcomes that were expected within three years of its creation. Five-time (455 perthreeent) [3] rise in drug-related crime from 2011 through 2013. Mizoram, Punjab, and Manipur are the three states with the highest percentage of seized drugs in 2011, likely because their borders are too close to the drug trafficking areas like the Golden Triangle (Laos, Myanmar, Thailand) and Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran). The process of sending every consumer of drugs into a prison, which is where 63% of prisoners have a histories of addiction to drugs and prisons arhistorywded poor conditions, and an increase in risk of bewith ing exposed to other criminals is ththe e outcome that continues to keep everyone around filing cases, and eventually going to jail and a rise in crime. The policies pertaining to trafficking and trafficking in smuggling must be strengthened as more people were being arrested for being traffickers in 2015, which amounted to 32,069 as opposed to 27,455 in 2014. [4]Special steps and precautions should be implemented for women and children who have been victims of this scourge of drug abuse. Each state needs to be handled in a different way as information gathered from each state is fferent and presents different challenges. The government must examine other countries and modify their laws in line with changes in the world. If, at the end of 30 years, no positive results are evident, then it is necessary to review and alter the laws in line with the figures from different stats need to be reduced. It is reasonable to say that after thirty years, this NDPS Act seems still young and is able to evolve and adapt to the current situation by taking risks similar to those of the European