WEED LEGALIZATION IN INDIA

WEED LEGALIZATION IN INDIA

Cannabis has a long history in India, veiled in legends and religion. The earliest mention of cannabis has been found in The Vedas. According to The Vedas, cannabis was one of the sacred plants and a guardian angel lived in its leaves. The Vedas call cannabis source of happiness, joy-giver, liberator that was compassionately given to humans to help us attain delight and lose fear. Lord Shiva is frequently associated with cannabis According to leg- end, Shiva wandered off into the fields after an angry discourse with his family. Exhausted, he fell asleep under a leafy plant. When he awoke, his curiosity led him to sample the leaves of the plant. Instantly rejuvenated, Shiva made the plant his favourite food and he went on to be known as the Lord of Bhang. Even his devotees, long-bearded sadhus, engage in pot to attain the spiritual oneness with Shiva.

Many Sadhus might not drink alcohol but are al- lowed Ganja and bhang. They don’t consider bhang as an intoxicant, but as Prasad (gift) of Lord Shiva. Even though marijuana consumption is illegal in India, but during Mahashivratri, we are allowed to consume cannabis in the form of ‘Bhang,’ because Shiva used to take Bhang, according to the mythology. It’s made out of cannabis leaves with a mixture of almonds, spices, cold milk and sugar. Worshipers offer Ganja to god and also consume it to attain a blissful state.

Cannabis has been an important part of Tantric Yoga sex acts which was originally consecrated to the consort of Lord Shiva, and Goddess Kali. Cannabis is considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac. War was another occasion in which drinking bhang and smoking weed were often resorted to. Indian folksongs dating back to the twelfth century AD mention bhang as the drink of warriors. Just as soldiers sometimes take a swig of whiskey before going into battle in modern warfare, during the Middle Ages in India, warriors routinely drank a small amount of bhang and smoked Ganja to assuage any feelings of panic, a custom that earned bhang the epithet of Vijaya, “victorious” or “invincible.”

The British found the use of cannabis so extensive in colonial India, that they commissioned a large scale study in the late 1890s. They were concerned that the abuse of cannabis was endangering the health of the native people and driving them insane. The British government asked the government of India to appoint a commission to look into the cultivation of the hemp plant, preparation of drugs from it, trade in those drugs, the social and moral impact of its consumption, and possible prohibition. The commission was systematic and thorough. It sampled a large and diverse group of people in a range of situations, from farmers to hospital psychiatrists. After years of detailed work, The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report produced six volumes of data and conclusions. Commissioners were particularly concerned with whether or not cannabis caused psychoses. After years of well conducted research, The Commission concluded that suppressing the use of herbal cannabis or bhang would be totally unjustifiable and prohibition would be difficult to enforce. Along with that, prohibition can possibly lead to the use of more dangerous narcotics. These endings of The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1894, conducted over 100 years ago, are surprisingly relevant today. However, government permitted the use of leaves and seeds allowing the states to regulate it accordingly.

However, in India medical use of cannabis was never outlawed, in fact it is considered as an integral part of modern-day Ayurveda. In Hakims and Vaidyas, cannabis has been prescribed to bowel complaints, anxiety and fatigue.

Bhang, in many villages in India, especially in the North, still is treated very much as a beverage is treated in the cities. Many social and religious gatherings are thought to be incomplete, unless bhang is part of the occasion. There is a belief that people who disrespect Ganja, “the gift of the gods” are doomed to suffer the torments as long as the sun shines in the heavens. Without bhang in celebrations such as marriages, evil spirits are believed to threaten the safety and future of the bride and groom, waiting for an opportune moment to wreak havoc on their lives.

Currently in India, cannabis is consumed for recreational purposes as well as for holiness. Construction workers use bhang to feel refreshed at the end of the day and to night fatigue. Hindus use bhang for religious ceremonies like Holi and use it to seek divinity.

Sadhus are Indian ascetics who have shunned material life and use cannabis to seek spiritual freedom. They live simply in the forest and wear ragged clothing. By emphasising physical austerity through celibacy and fasting, cannabis helps sadhus transcend ordinary reality and achieve transcendence. Today, bhang is so common in some parts of India that it can be found in government licensed street stands. Summing up, the herbal plant, cannabis, has a long and continuous history in India. It has lived for thousands of years in stories of gods and warriors and it continues to live today in religious ceremonies and street stands.

Ban of marijuana created a restriction on possession, use, and sale of cannabis preparations containing psychoactive cannabinoids. It is presently banned in most countries across the globe, particularly in India. The UN has aforementioned that cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the world. Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects once consumed. Other than that a subjective modi cation in perception and, most notably, mood, the foremost common short-run physical and neurological effects which embody in- creased pulse rate, raised appetite, lowered blood pressure level, impairment of short-term and dealing with misbalance of content and coordination. Long-run effects are less clear. humans, comparatively few adverse clinical health effects are documented from chronic cannabis use. Cannabis has been used for variety of health conditions for 3,000 years. On January 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a report on the effects of marijuana on health and products derived from it. The report talks about the comprehensive understanding of the health effects of marijuana and recommendations. The least controversial extraction from the hemp plant known as CBD or cannabidiol. It has very little components of marijuana. Whereas THC or terrahydrocannabinol is the chemical that causes the “high”. Marijuana appears to ease the pain of multiple sclerosis, and nerve pain in general. Patients claim that marijuana allows them to resume their previous activities with- out feeling completely disengaged. Also, marijuana is said to be fantastic muscle relaxant and people swear by its ability to lessen tremors in Parkinson’s disease. It is quite successful for most conditions where the final common pathway is chronic pain. Marijuana is also used to manage and weight loss, and can be used to treat glaucoma. A highly promising area of research is its use in for PTSD. There is one nemesis that the legalisation movement has to face, which is the kings and queens on Indian economy that are feared and loathed by the Ganja cultivators and sup- porters. Along with the Tabaco industry, the laws enforced on marijuana, the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry. Even though it is proven by studies and experiments that marijuana can be used to treat common and well as chronic illness. The Indian Pharma- industry is ranks 3rd in the world in volume and 14th in terms of value. There pro ted income is through the production and selling of pharmaceutical drugs made out of synthetic chemicals. The legalisation of cannabis will completely tear apart their importance as an industry.

We have heard about the marijuana nuns, we know that a lot of people across the globe are legally allowed to smoke pot because of medical issues and we also know that many women rely ‘Ganja’ during their menstrual cramps, then why is it still illegal, frowned upon in India? Well according to the study of international laws and their outcome, decriminalisation of weed would be beneficial for India. It’s time to realise that the harder we push the more we drain our energy. The minimum punishment for violation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psycho- tropic Substance Act (NDPS) was 10 years of jail, but it has relaxed and the crackdown of marijuana has eased comparatively. It was a poorly constructed law that clubbed marijuana, hashish, bhang and hard drugs like heroin, cocaine; and banned them all. This in turn, resulted in an overnight shift in trade from marijuana to hard core drugs. This was because while the risk was the same, profits from the hard drugs were a lot higher. Another aw was that instead of spending money on arresting offenders and cutting down marijuana plantations, the Government save itself the trouble and legalise a systematic, culturally accepted substance in socio-economic development of the nation. Epidemiological study show that clinical dependency of marijuana is way less than the rates of tobacco, alcohol, and cocaine; with the rates being 9%, 32%, 15%, and 16% respectively. Moreover, these days, it is pretty easy to buy marijuana in India and its consumption is widespread among the youth. So it is fair to say that prohibition has failed to curb the ‘problem’. It is now medically proven that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. Unlike alcoholics, stoners don’t indulge in rash driving or violent fights. They tend to be clam and pleasant under the influence of marijuana. From a socio-economic perspective, in states like Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where cannabis plants grow, and marijuana is the only source of income for many locals. However, being a banned substance, the farmers are forced to sell it at a very low price to the drug dealers, and they face additional pressure from the police, who are paid to destroy the cannabis plantations. Legalising marijuana will end this ‘war on drugs’ targeting our country- men.

Legalizing of Marijuana will lead to a rise in the growth of GDP. Imposing tax on selling of marijuana will anyway help in keeping a control over its cost of production, selling and consumption. It would be a help to the Indian economy. Prohibition is failed to curb the production of marijuana as states like Himachal Pradesh completely because they depend on the production of marijuana. They have no other source income except this. So why not legalise it, as legalising marijuana will create job opportunities for many people. Legalising will en- sure that marijuana is distributed in good quality to consumers. India can follow the laws of Netherlands that have decriminalised the personal usage of marijuana, and the outcome was an impressive result. The Dutch experience, alongside those of some alternative countries with minor policy changes, provides a moderately smart empirical case that removal of criminal prohibitions on cannabis possession won’t increase the prevalence of marijuana or the other illicit drug.

The Government can fix an age restriction for use recreational marijuana as 25 years is the legal age to consume alcohol, this can be applied to cannabis as well. Make it compulsory that only licensed shop will be allowed to sell marijuana, and black-marketing should be panalised. State government can make it mandatory to provide a card to every purchaser according to their age, background, usage. There should be a record on every purchase of weed and there should be a limit of quantity of weed purchased per person.

Hence, we can conclude that legalising marijuana will anyway save time and efforts of the government. If marijuana is provided in a limited quantity, it will help in lessening its consumption. Marijuana is comparatively less destructive than other serious drugs such as hero- in, cocaine, LSD, etc. and for that matter even alcohol and tobacco.

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