Himachal Calling: Panel on controlled cultivation of cannabis submits report in Assembly

Amidst apprehensions over allowing the controlled cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes, the report of the committee entrusted to look into various aspects of this contentious issue was finally submitted in the Vidhan Sabha.

As Himachal Pradesh inches closer to finally allowing cannabis cultivation for non-narcotic use, an issue being deliberated upon for the last more than a decade, it is with utmost caution that the government will have to tread in this regard.

Rs 500-crore Annual revenue expected

Revenue Minister Jagat Negi, who headed the committee to look into all aspects of allowing the cultivation, said the state hoped to make an income of about Rs 500 crore annually from this sector which would gradually increase. Cannabis find use in sectors like food, textiles, paper, construction material, furniture, cosmetics, biofuels and healthcare products, besides in treating ailments like cancer, epilepsy and chronic pain

The cash-strapped state is desperately looking for areas to generate the much-needed revenue and cannabis could prove to be a ray of hope. It is under the provisions of Section 10 and 14 of the NDPS Act, 1985, along with Rule 29 of the NDPS Rules, 1989, that cannabis cultivation can be undertaken for medicinal, scientific and industrial purposes.

Revenue Minister Jagat Negi, who headed the committee to look into all aspects of allowing cannabis cultivation, said the state hoped to make an income of about Rs 500 crore annually from this sector which would gradually increase. The committee has finalised its report after undertaking a study tour of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir in May last year to gain first-hand knowledge of various issues. Meetings were held with representatives of the Panchayati Raj institutions in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Sirmaur and Solan which are climatically suited for cannabis cultivation.

The team which visited Madhya Pradesh was cautioned by officials to ensure the strict monitoring to prevent the diversion of cannabis for narcotic use. It has been proposed in the report of the committee that the scientists from the agriculture and horticulture universities can be roped in to ensure that seeds with less than 0.3 per cent Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content were made available to the farmers, who venture into this field. Difficulty in procuring such seeds with low narcotic content is a problem faced by farmers in Uttarakhand.

There is no denying that the use of cannabis for making hemp apparel, which constitutes very high-end clothing, can fetch very good returns, but the path is fraught with many challenges. Other beneficial uses of cannabis can be in sectors like food, textiles, paper, construction material, furniture, cosmetics, biofuels and healthcare products. Apart from this, cannabidiol compounds have been found to be effective in treating ailments like cancer, epilepsy and chronic pain.

Sensitising the community and creating awareness about the exact purpose and the legal aspects will in itself be a big challenge. Making available seeds with the help of scientific guidance and putting in place a strict control and regulation mechanism with a specialised staff are challenges admitted by the committee itself.

Areas of Himachal Pradesh, especially the Kullu-Manali valley has gained notoriety for the cultivation and trafficking of cannabis, with the hash form here being considered amongst the best. The efforts of the police, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and other law-enforcing agencies over the last three years have failed to yield the desired results with villagers still undertaking illegal cultivation in inaccessible higher reaches for narcotic use.

In fact, Malana village in Kullu considered to be the oldest democracy in the world, with the villagers claiming to be ancestors of Alexander attracts hordes of youth in search of the famed ‘malana crème.’ Despite sustained fight against illegal drug trade, especially in Kullu, Mandi, Chamba and a few areas in Shimla and Sirmaur districts, the illegal drug trade continues to flourish.