Poison Act 1919
Definition
Seventeen-section central statute empowering state governments to notify substances as 'poisons' and to license their sale, possession and import. Still in force.
- Jurisdiction
- India
- Structure
- 17 sections
- Power granted
- State governments notify and license 'poisons'
- Status
- Still in force
Common questions
How does the Poison Act 1919 relate to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act?+
The two operate side by side: the Poison Act governs general notified poisons and their sale, possession, and import licensing at the state level, while the Drugs and Cosmetics Act separately regulates pharmaceutical substances, and a chemical can fall under one, the other, or both depending on how it is used.
Why does a century-old statute still matter in modern poisoning investigations?+
It remains the operative licensing framework for many notified poisons in India, so an investigator establishing illegal possession or sale of a controlled poison, as opposed to a scheduled drug, still has to work through this Act's provisions and state notifications.
Related terms
- CDSCO
- Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, headquartered in Delhi, headed by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The federal regulator under the...
- Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940
- Central statute governing the import, manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs and cosmetics in India. Read with the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules...
- NDPS Act 1985
- India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the primary statute governing drug offences, establishing small and commercial quantity thresholds that determine...
- Schedule H
- List of prescription drugs under the 1945 Rules; sold only on a registered medical practitioner's prescription. Includes most antibiotics, sedatives, antipsychotics and...
- Schedule H1
- Forty-six substances notified by the 2013 amendment (Drugs and Cosmetics Fourth Amendment Rules, 2013, GSR 588(E) dated 30 August 2013, in force...
- Schedule X
- Psychotropic substances and narcotics notified under the 1945 Rules. Stored under double lock, register retained for two years, copy of prescription retained.