Drug Trafficking and Narcotic Drugs Law in Nepal: Key Highlights

Nepal has quite a history when it comes to narcotic drugs, particularly during the 1960s and 70s, when it was perceived by many tourists as a haven for the consumption of substances such as marijuana, hashish, and heroin.

 

Currently, we have the Narcotic Drugs Control Act, 1976 (2033) (“Narcotic Act”) for the regulation of production, sale, use, and trafficking of narcotic substances. Moreover, this Act has the extra territorial application i.e, it also applies to Nepalese citizens or foreigners who commit an offence while residing in foreign country.

 

This article explores the definition, offences related to narcotic drugs, legal proceedings associated and punishment in relation to narcotic drugs in Nepal.

 

 

Followings are the governing laws that are currently in force, that regulates the offence related to narcotic drugs:

S.N.	Governing Law	Scope
1	Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act, 1976 (2033)	This is the primary legislation defining narcotic drugs and prohibiting their cultivation, production, trafficking, and consumption and prescribing punishment
2	Drug Act 1978 (2035)	This act governs pharmaceutical narcotics, penalizing unauthorized production or distribution.
3	National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 (2074)	This act penalizes the sale of narcotic drugs by authorized persons without a prescription under the Chapter on Medical Practitioner.

 

 

S.N.	Authorities	Functions
1	Narcotic Drugs Control Office (NDCO)	Established under Section 21 of the Narcotic Act, it operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and oversees control, investigation, and enforcement activities.
2	Chief Narcotic Drugs Control Officer, and Narcotic Drugs Control Officers	Empowered under Section 21 of the Act to supervise and coordinate drug enforcement.
3	Police and Designated Civil Officers	Authorized to initiate investigation in relation to the narcotic offences

 

Not all the intoxicating substances fall under the definition of the narcotic drug. Section 3 of the Narcotic Act defines narcotic drugs as following:

 

• Cannabis/ marijuana
• Medicinal cannabis/ marijuana
• Opium
• Processed opium
• Medicinal opium
• Plants and leaves of coca, and
• Any substances to be prepared by mixing opium and extract coca, including mixture or salt.
• Psychotropic substances and their salts as specified by the Government of Nepal in the Nepal Gazette.

 

The Narcotic Act of Nepal categorizes the following conducts as offences and penalizes them accordingly. 

 

5.1. General Prohibited Acts

• Cultivate, produce, prepare, purchase, sell, distribute, export/import, traffic, store, or consume cannabis/marijuana
• Cultivate opium or coca or produce opium or coca leaves or other narcotic drugs
• Manufacture or prepare narcotic drugs
• Sell or distribute narcotic drugs
• Export or import narcotic drugs
• Purchase, store, possess, or traffic narcotic drugs
• Consume narcotic drugs (other than cannabis/marijuana)
• ppy or coca bush
• Illegal transactions of other narcotic drugs (graded by weight)
• Addiction to synthetic/natural psychotropic substances
• Other prohibited acts not explicitly categorized

 

5.2 Ancillary Offences

• Permitting prohibited acts in one’s building, land, or vehicle 
• Conspiracy, attempt, abetment, accomplice 
• Dealing in fake drugs pretending to be narcotics 
• Government employees aiding traffickers through bribery 

 

5.3 Related Offences

• Possession without proof of legality 
• Illegal financial transactions related to narcotics 
• Misuse of narcotic precursors or controlled chemicals 
• Failure to comply with prescription regulations 

 

Step 1: Arrest and Seizure 

Arrest of the accused and seizure of the narcotic substances in question is the first step in the prosecution of narcotic related offences. Under Section 7 of the Act, the Narcotic Drugs Control Office can issue both arrest warrants and search warrants if they reasonably believe that the person has committed or is about to commit an offence under the Act. 

 

Under Section 8 of the Act, the Narcotic Drugs Control Officer or a police personnel at least up to the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police can enter, search, seize and arrest even without a warrant if they believe the offence is being committed and the offender is likely to escape from the place. Moreover, the Narcotic Drug Control Officer needs to submit a report to their immediate superior within 24 hours of such arrest, search or seizure. Such arrested persons or goods seized should also be brought before the Judicial Authority within 24 hours.

 

Step 2: Investigation

Personnel at least upto the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector police or at least upto the rank of Kharidar designated by the chief of Narcotic Drugs Control Law Enforcement Agency, act as an investigating authority. In the course of investigation, the narcotic drug control officer may also tape the electronic devices and censor posts like letters, parcels, documents if ordered by the judicial authority or investigating authority. Under Section 21 B of the Narcotic Act, the investigating officer enjoys the powers equal to that of a custom officer to search the goods of persons seen doubtful in the transaction of Narcotic drugs.

Moreover, investigating authorities can also adopt or implement controlled delivery/ controlled payment techniques to identify the final destination of the illicit drug trafficking by allowing such trafficking under direct supervision. 

 

Under Section 22C of the Act, a person can be kept under police custody for upto 3 months for the investigation. However, the duration for custody cannot be extended more than one month at a time. 

 

Step 3: Prosecution and Trial

Narcotic drug offences are the strict liability, where the burden of proof lies not on the plaintiff but on the accused. Section 2 of the Narcotic Act also has the same provision. However, this does not mean anyone can be convicted without evidence. In fact, the Supreme Court of Nepal in Ram Bahadur Thapa, NKP 2064, Decision Number 7829, has held that “ Even though, in drug-related offences, the burden of proof may be shifted to the accused, it does not mean that in every situation or in every case, the prosecution need not present any evidence at all, and that the accused will be declared guilty merely because they failed to prove their innocence based solely on the confession given before the prosecution. Such an interpretation would be contrary to our criminal justice system, established legal principles, constitutional provisions, and fundamental rights.”

 

Regarding the trial, except the offences involving cannabis/marijuana, the cases shall be heard by the courts constituted or prescribed under Nepal Gazette by Government of Nepal under Section 21A of the Narcotic Act. 

 

Step 4: Judgement and Appeal

After the examination of the evidence the court shall provide the decision and if a person is not satisfied with the court's decision, they can file appeal against the decision.

 

 

The punishment of the offences of Narcotic Drugs varies depending upon whether it is produced, cultivated, consumed, sold or purchased. It also varies depending upon the type and nature of the narcotic drug in question.

 

7.1 Punishment for cultivation of drugs 

The act of cultivation of such drugs is penalized as following under Section 14 of the Narcotic Act.

 

Cultivated Substance	Up to 25 Plants	More than 25 Plants
Cannabis/Marijuana	Imprisonment up to 3 months or Rs. 3,000 fine	Up to 3 years or Rs. 5,000–25,000 fine
Opium/Coca	1–3 years imprisonment or Rs. 5,000–25,000 fine	3–10 years imprisonment and Rs. 25,000–200,000 fine

 

Exceptions:

However, production, collection, storage, sale and purchase of hashish is allowed in Nepal's western hilly region under a government-issued license. Similarly, it is not an offense if cultivation, production, or trade of narcotic drugs is by the Government of Nepal or its institutions for medicinal or scientific research purposes under a special license.

 

7.2. Punishment for Consumption of Drugs 

the punishments for consumption are tabled below:

 

Type of Narcotic Consumed	Punishment
Cannabis/Marijuana	Up to 1 month imprisonment or up to Rs. 2,000 fine
Opium, Coca, or derivatives	Up to 1 year imprisonment or up to Rs. 10,000 fine
Addiction to natural/synthetic narcotic or psychotropic substances	Up to 2 months imprisonment or up to Rs. 2,000 fine, or both

 

Exceptions:

However, if a person purchases or consumes small amounts of cannabis/ marijuana or medicinal opium, without commercial motive, they may be released without punishment after signing a bond promising not to repeat the offence.  Similarly, as per Section 19A of the Act, a consumer is not to be punished when they are undergoing treatment in a treatment center or rehabilitation center recognized by the Government of Nepal. 

 

7.3. Punishment for Sale and Trafficking of narcotic drugss

Lastly, the punishment for the sale and trafficking of the narcotic drug varies according to the type or narcotic and the quantity of such drug as tabled below:

 

For Cannabis/Marijuana,

Quantity	Punishment
Up to 50g	Up to 3 months imprisonment or up to Rs. 3,000 fine
50g–500g	1 month to 1 year imprisonment and Rs. 1,000–5,000 fine
500g–2kg	6 months to 2 years imprisonment and Rs. 2,000–10,000 fine
2kg–10kg	1 to 3 years imprisonment and Rs. 5,000–25,000 fine
More than 10kg	2 to 10 years imprisonment and Rs. 15,000–100,000 fine

 

For Opium, Coca, other narcotics or psychotropics,

Quantity	Punishment
Up to 25g	5 to 10 years imprisonment and Rs. 5,000–25,000 fine
25g–100g	10 to 15 years imprisonment and Rs. 70,000–200,000 fine
More than 100g	15 years to life imprisonment and Rs. 500,000–2,500,000 fine

 

 

Under Section 18B of the Narcotic Act, if anyone informs the Narcotic Drugs Control Officer about the sale, trafficking or use of the narcotic drug, and if the offence is proved and the offender is punished with fines, then the informer is awarded 20% of the fine. Such informers receiving the award will be kept secret.

 

Similarly, the employees involved in drugs control and investigation will also be awarded 20% of the imposed fine upon conviction of the offence under Section 18D of the Act.

 

 

Narcotic drug offenses may qualify as organized crime if multiple defendants jointly plan and engage in purchasing, transporting, storing, and distributing drugs for profit as held by the Supreme Court in Subodh Kumar Urf Pappu v. Government of Nepal , NKP 2061, Volume 3, Decision No. 7341 and their involvement cannot be assessed individually. 

 

Similarly, Section 17A of the Narcotic Act penalizes the sale, purchase, exports or imports of any substance, carried out with a belief that it is a narcotic drug,  irrespective of whether it is actually a narcotic drug. This is affirmed by the Supreme Court in the Government of Nepal v. Sudarshan Kunwar and others, NKP 2061, DN 7436, as well. This implies that it is not necessary to establish that the trader had actual knowledge that the substance was a narcotic drug, as long as he/she deals with it in a manner believing that it is a narcotic drug.

 

In addition, in the case of Harka Pun Magar v. Government of Nepal, Decision Number: 6759, the Supreme Court dismissed that claim of the defendant that the confiscated heroin was for own personal consumption considering the large quantity of the heroin. The court observed that it is not believable that the defendant was in possession of such a large quantity just for personal consumption.

 

 

The Narcotic Act establishes strict prohibitions on cultivation, production, trafficking, and consumption of narcotic drugs, but it also carves out critical exceptions to accommodate medical needs, rehabilitation efforts, and controlled government activities. The law balances strict enforcement with compassion for medical needs and recovery. For individuals or organizations, understanding these rules is key to staying compliant. Legal advice is crucial to navigate permits, avoid violations, and protect rights under this complex framework.  

 

Date of Publication: May 27, 2025 

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