Himachal eyes pot of gold under grass

The cannabis plant and its many products, such as hemp ropes and fabric, were part of hill life before a ban was enforced in the 1980s. Now, as the world wakes up to cannabis’ benefits, the state could legalise its cultivation soon
Up in the mountains of Kullu, on trails so treacherous you won’t venture on them, a crop is ready to harvest. But it’s no ordinary crop.Far from the police’s eyes, hired hands are busy extracting charas from cannabis plants. By the time the ‘bhong season’ gets over in October, they would have produced thousands of kilograms of the priciest charas.
For almost 40 years now, cannabis cultivation has been a crime in India. But that has never stopped farmers in parts of Himachal’s Kullu, Chamba, Sirmaur, Shimla, Mandi and Kangra districts. In fact, the premium on quality charas only serves as an incentive for them.
But the hush-hush nature of cannabis farming could end if the Himachal government goes through with its plan to legalise the plant for medical and industrial use.
‘Will Boost Village Economy’
The idea isn’t new. In 2018, former Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur had made a similar announcement. A year earlier, Shimla-based advocate Deven Khanna had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Himachal high court seeking directions to the state government for making the cultivation of industrial and medical cannabis legal.
But it was only in April this year that the government brought a resolution to the state assembly to legalise cannabis. Then, a five-member panel was formed to explore the possibility. The panel headed by Himachal revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi tabled its report in the assembly on September 22, and described legalisation as a ‘game-changer’ for the state.
“The idea behind allowing cannabis cultivation is to generate revenue for the state and create a source of employment,” says Puran Chand Thakur, BJP MLA from Mandi district who had introduced the resolution to legalise cannabis. “If legalised, cannabis will turn out to be a boon for the state’s rural economy.”
Thakur, who is also a member of the committee on cannabis legalisation, says legal cannabis will eradicate the drug mafia. “It will be like any other crop, say maize or wheat. The government will provide seeds to the farmers and ensure the crop is bought back at good rates. It will provide income to thousands of unemployed youths. This will also be the beginning of the end of the drug mafia in the state.”
He expects cannabis cultivation will be legal in Himachal by March next year.
‘Can Earn More Than Apples’
Legal cannabis will increase the Himachal government’s annual revenue by Rs 400 crore-500 crore in the initial years, says the report. Though the state is desperate for new revenue streams, successive governments have been wary of making cannabis legal. Their biggest fear is that the drug mafia could misuse the new law.
But Maheshwar Singh Thakur, ‘raja’ of Kullu and a former BJP MP, says the fear of misuse can’t be an excuse to avoid a step which is in public interest. “Even shoe polish gives some people a high. So, will you ban that too?”
Khanna, who is a member of the government’s hemp committee, says the fear of medical cannabis being misused is unfounded. “The licence for medical cannabis won’t be easy to get and no businessman would like to jeopardise their business by selling cannabis illegally. Medical cannabis will be allowed for established pharma units only.”
Maheshwar Thakur, an ardent supporter of legal cannabis, says, “Himachal should have legalised cannabis a long time ago. The cannabis plant has been a part of life for the locals. They used to make ropes, footwear and even clothes out of the plant’s fibre. The state government should at least make it legal for extracting fibre.”
So, why hasn’t cannabis cultivation been legalised? Khanna, who has drafted Himachal’s proposed policy, blames red tape. “Legalisation has been delayed because politicians spoke about it but never made a policy, and bureaucrats created hurdles instead of clearing the way as they failed to realise the benefits of legal cannabis.”
There’s a multi-million dollar market for hemp fibre, Khanna adds. “If legalised, cannabis will overtake the state’s apple industry in terms of revenue.”
‘Illegal Trade Will Be Hit’
Over the years, Malana village in Kullu district has become synonymous with quality charas sold as ‘Malana cream’ – illegally, of course. Prices will fall if cannabis cultivation is legalised, but village pradhan Raju Ram is all for it. “Even if the money is less, the people of Malana will shift to legal cannabis farming. Nobody wants to live in constant fear of the law. And if the government buys the crop, most of the people here would opt for it.”
Maheshwar Thakur also says legal cannabis will hurt the illicit charas trade. “A poor man is forced to grow cannabis or sell charas. Given an option, he will grow legal hemp. Although legal cannabis won’t be that lucrative, it will impact the illegal trade as fear of the law will divert people towards legal cultivation.”
‘Mafia Will Exploit Loopholes’
Others, like former director general of police (DGP) ID Bhandari, are less sanguine about legalising cannabis cultivation in the state. “Cannabis should be legalised but we as a society are not ready for such a move,” he says, adding that it will only “help the charas mafia” which will exploit the loopholes in the new rules.
“Charas smuggling is such a lucrative trade that legalisation would never be able to make a dent in it,” Bhandari says, adding that monitoring and regulating legalised cannabis will be a law enforcement nightmare.
Around 4,000kg of charas has been seized in the state in the past decade, but former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer OP Sharma says, “Hundreds of tonnes of charas is smuggled out annually from six Himachal districts. How much do the police seize? Three hundred kilos in a year! The police have utterly failed to curb smuggling and turned Himachal into a mini-Afghanistan.”
Sharma says lifting the ban on cannabis cultivation will increase police’s manpower requirement for monitoring, so it would be best to start with a pilot project in a place like Malana. “If the villagers switch over to legal cannabis, then maybe you can replicate it elsewhere.”
HERE’S SOMETHING TO TOKE ABOUT
CANNABIS BY OTHER NAMES
Bhang, charas, ganja, hashish, marijuana, hash, pot, grass, weed, hemp
Banned For 4 Decades
1985 | Cannabis cultivation criminalised in India, illegal cultivation booms
2010 | First step towards legalising cannabis as new natural fibre policy advocates hemp fibre production
2017 | PIL in Himachal high court seeks directions to make industrial and medical cannabis cultivation legal in state
July 2018 | Uttarakhand first state to legalise cannabis cultivation
Nov 2018 | Then CM Jai Ram Thakur says Himachal considering legalising cannabis cultivation
Nov 2019 | Madhya Pradesh legalises cannabis cultivation
Apr 6, 2023 | Himachal assembly forms panel to explore legalisation. CM Sukhvinder Sukhu also tells the assembly the government is considering legalising cannabis cultivation.
MEDICAL USE GROWING
➤ In India, cultivation of industrial and medical cannabis is legal in Uttarakhand, while controlled cultivation is allowed in some districts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu
➤ Globally, around 50 countries have legalised cannabis for medical use. Uruguay was the first country to legalise the production, distribution and consumption of recreational cannabis in 2013, and Thailand the first Asian country to do so in 2022. Recreational use of cannabis is also allowed in Canada, Georgia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico and South Africa. In the US, 23 states have allowed recreational use of cannabis
PROPOSED CANNABIS PROTOCOL IN HIMACHAL
➤ Agricultural universities will conduct research on medical cannabis
➤ State government will grant licences to eligible farmers/corporate institutions to grow cannabis
➤ Government will also provide cannabis seeds to farmers
➤ Seeds for industrial hemp will have less than 0.3% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive substance in cannabis), making the plant useless for drug users
➤ No THC limit for medical cannabis, but licensee must set up a lab approved by NABL
➤ Government will inspect cannabis fields from time to time. Cultivation outside the designated area will be punishable
➤ Licence will be nixed if medical cannabis is sold commercially or consumed