consumed bhang during Holi. The United States began to campaign for a worldwide law against all drugs, following the adoption of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961. However, India opposed the move, and withstood American pressure to make cannabis illegal for nearly 25 years. American pressure increased in the 1980s, and in 1985, the Rajiv Gandhi government succumbed and enacted the NDPS Act, banning all narcotic drugs in India. Punishment Anyone who contravenes the NDPS Act will face punishment based on the quantity of the banned substance. where the contravention involves a small quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 year, or with a fine which may extend to or both; where the contravention involves a quantity lesser than commercial quantity but greater than a small quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years and with fine which may extend to ; where the contravention involves a commercial quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 10 years but which may extend to 20 years and also a fine which shall not be less than but which may extend to . The table below lists the current definition of a small quantity and a commercial quantity for some popular drugs. Criticism Critics of the NDPS Act say that the restriction that the act is "draconian" and that it imposes on the grant of bail amount to "amount to virtual denial and ensure years of incarceration". Critics say that the conditions of bail under this act are needlessly harsh and are similar to provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 and Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 which result in long periods of imprisonment and that the NDPS act places the burden-of-proof entirely on the accused to establish innocence. Furthermore, some critics point out that under this act, there is a presumption of “culpable mental state”, that is, the court will presume that there was an intention to commit a crime. They claim that this goes against the general principle of the law where people accused of a crime are assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. There is a higher threshold for bail in serious cases under the Act. Under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, if a person is accused of an offence involving “commercial quantities”, that is, more than