Maharashtra will amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and make it more stringent by making abetment a serious offence, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday. He was speaking in the Legislative Council.

Saying that the menace of psychotropic drugs is spreading like cancer, Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, said the government plans to conduct awareness programmes against drugs in a big way.

Under the NDPS Act one needs to possess commercial quantities of drugs or consume drugs for it to be considered a crime, he said. We have decided to bring state amendments to the NDPS Act and it will not be restricted to consumption and possession alone. Abetment of crime will also be considered a serious offence. This will ensure that loophole in the NDPS Act is not misused, Fadnavis said.