law: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
  8. Prohibition of certain operations
  No person shall-
  (a) cultivate any coca plant or gather any portion of coca
  
  plant;
  or
  (b) cultivate the opium poppy or any cannabis plant; or
  (c) produce, manufacture, possess, sell, purchase, transport,
  
  ware-house, use, consume, import inter-State export inter-State import into
  
  India, export from India or transship any narcotic drug or psychotropic
  
  substance, except for medical or scientific purposes and in the manner and to
  
  the extent provided by the provisions of this Act or the rules or orders made
  
  thereunder and in a case where any such provision, imposes any requirement by
  
  way of license, permit or authorization also in accordance with the terms and
  
  conditions of such license, permit or authorization:
  Provided that, and subject to the other provisions of
  
  this Act and the rules made thereunder, the prohibition against the cultivation
  
  of the cannabis plant for the production of ganja or the production,
  
  possession, use, consumption, purchase, sale, transport, warehousing, import
  
  inter-State and export inter-State of ganja for any purpose other than medical
  
  and scientific purpose shall take effect only from the date which the Central
  
  Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this
  
  behalf.
  6[Provided further that nothing in this section
  
  shall  apply to the export of poppy straw for decorative purposes.]