What If Marijuana gets legalized in India?

Abstract:?

Weed or Marijuana or Cannabis, a narcotic substance is being consumed in India for over 2000 years. The most socially acceptable form of it, Bhang is widely used by people on different religious festivals, like- Holi, Shivratri etc. As per Atharva Veda, Bhang is considered to be prasadam or sacred food and the plant Cannabis is most sacred plant which has an ability to cure many fatal diseases. And the Hindu shastras clearly mentions that even Shiva or Mahadev, one of the most powerful gods also consumes it often. The Sushruta Samhita, an ancient medical treatise, recommends cannabis plant extract for treating respiratory ailments and diarrhea. So, no need to mention that India has a pretty deeper connection with the use of cannabis but problem arises when it took a form of abuse among young minds of the country.?

Definition of Cannabis:?

First let us discuss what cannabis actually is. Cannabis is a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance derived from cannabis sativa family and used as a recreational drug and can be used for as a component of medicine as well to treat certain diseases. Main psychoactive component of cannabis is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is one of the 500 recognized chemical compounds in the plant, including at least 100 additional cannabinoids. It also contains cannabidiol (CBD).Various parts of this plant are used to make different drugs, like- Hashis or Charas from resin, Ganja from the leaves and Bhang from leaves and seeds. There was no such clear definition as such regarding cannabis but under the immense pressure of United states of America India passed its own distinct law to deal with the matters of narcotic abuse.?

Narcotic drug and Psychotic substances act, 1985 or NDPS Act, 1985 was the first and effective laws enacted with an intention to regulate and control drug production, possession, sell and import and export interstate or intra state. Section 2 sub section (iii) and (iv) defines Cannabis as mentioned below-?

“Cannabis (hemp)” means—

(a) charas, that is, the separated resin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish;?

(b) Ganja, that is, the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops), by whatever name they may be known or designated; and??

(c) any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared therefrom;

Although state prohibits the use of cannabis but leaves and seeds when not accompanied by the top are not mentioned under the definition of Cannabis. So, this is a loophole in the law. And even the use of Bhang is not restricted by this cat as a religious stigma is associated with this.?

Laws on Cannabis in different states:

No complete ban has been imposed over the production of cannabis. It can be produced for medical, scientific, horticultural or industrial purposes after obtaining the ascent from the concerned state authority.? There are different laws prevail in various states in India as per that-

In West Bengal production, possession, sell, import, export of any intoxicating drug is illegal under Bengal Excise Act, 1909 wherein intoxicating drug has been defined under?Section 3 sub section 13 of the said Act which includes leaves, small stalks and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa L.) including all forms known as Bhang or Siddhi. It is also to be noted that cultivation of any hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa L.) is also punishable under the Bengal Excise Act, 1909.

Odisha is one of the rarest states where marijuana is legal and chillum is mostly used drug here for recreational purposes.

In Assam,?The Assam Ganja and Bhang Prohibition Act, 1958, prohibits sale, purchase, possession and consumption of ganja and bhang.

In Maharashtra, Section 66(1) (b) of the Bombay Prohibition (BP) Act, 1949, bans manufacture, possession and consumption of bhang and bhang-containing substances without a license.

Uttarakhand is the first Indian State to legalize commercial hemp farming. In November 2015, Uttarakhand legalized the cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes. Many hilly states have been focusing on hemp production as it is highly profitable and requires less water.?

Punishments for dealing in Cannabis:

There are three legislations that determine punishment if you are caught carrying weed in India. These are:?

1. The NDPS Act, 1985?

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1. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000

1. State laws?

Punishments are mentioned under section 20 of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 for production, possession, sell, import, export interstate or outer state. As per it-

1. If someone gets caught with a small quantity of Cannabis then he will be be liable for imprisonment which may extend upto 6 months and a fine of 10000 Rs. Or both.
2. For a quantity which is higher than the smaller quantity but lesser than the commercial quantity he will be liable for imprisonment which may extend upto 10 years or a fine up to 1 lakh rupees or both.
3. For a commercial quantity the punishment is imprisonment which may extend to 20 years and a fine of 2 lacks and it can even be increased and is subject to the discretion of the court.?

Some punishments are also imposed on the consumption of narcotic substances. As per section 27,?

1. For consumption of cocaine, morphine, diethyl morphine one will be liable for a rigorous imprisonment of 1 year or a fine of 20 thousand rupees or both.?
2. For any drugs other than that the punishment is imprisonment for 6 months or fine of 10 thousand or both.

Section 28?states the punishment for an attempt to commit an offence mentioned under the NDPS Act. It is thereby stated that whoever attempts to commit any offence punishable under this Chapter or to cause such offence to be committed and in such an attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence shall be punishable with the punishment provided for the offence.

Section 29 states the punishment for abetment and criminal conspiracy. It is stated that whoever abets, or is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit any offence punishable, shall, whether the offence is or be not committed in consequence of such abetment or in pursuance of such criminal conspiracy, be punishable with the punishment provided for the offence.

Debate regarding the illegality of Marijuana:

Proposition: Why Marijuana should be legal

1. Although Marijuana is illegal but it is still easily available in almost everywhere. From college campuses to universities and shops are blatantly selling rolling papers, like, gogo roll paper a very renowned brand among smokers and anyone would find a lot of tutorials on weed smoking online. So no strict measures have been taken for controlling the use of it.?
2. Rather than banning it totally government can impose a high amount of tax over cannabis by making it legal just like cigarettes and alcohol. After all, India earned a whopping Rs?1.75 lakh?crore in 2019-20 from taxes on alcohol. The Indian exchequer collects more than Rs?53,000?crore each year from tobacco products. We don’t ban those products. We simply make them terribly expensive for consumers. Same needs to be done in case of marijuana.

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1. Cannabis has a lot of medical benefits. Banning cannabis totally basically deprives the patients from getting the benefits of it. Doctors are unable to conduct research and formulate new medicines out of it if it continues to be illegal. As per some researchers Cannabis is proven to be beneficial for the HIV-AIDS patients and even for cancer patients as well. And moreover painkiller medicines can be made out of it as well.
2. Some allegations are there that government has exaggerated the cons of cannabis. There have been 0 deaths reported so far by consumption of weed in India. As per WHO, almost 1.35 million people dies every year in India for tobacco smoking and death toll of alcohol is 140k each year in our country which is a matter of great concern.??
3. Criminalizing the production, consumption of cannabis does not restrict seller from selling it and concerned buyers from buying it. Sometimes proper safety measures are not properly maintained while making such products. We may have heard of the term “Bish mod” which is basically locally produced alcohol without any regulation of government in West Bengal region and people often die for consuming such alcohol. Some goes for cannabis. So if the government legalizes it, it can be produced in the factories with proper safety standards.

Opposition: Why Marijuana should not be legal:

1. Marijuana is considered to be a gateway drug.? People may get addicted towards different highly disastrous drugs like, cocaine, morphine etc. after consumption of Marijuana. Often drug addicts had declared that they have started their drug consumption journey with Marijuana.?
2. There isn’t any hard evidence that justifies its therapeutic use. There haven’t been many clinical trials with respect to using weed for medicinal purposes. Data appraising the effectiveness of marijuana is limited and often only anecdotal.
3. Not good for immunocompromised people as regulation for growth of it is not standardized. The crude plant may have mould or fungus which would cause more harm than good for immunocompromised people.?
4. There are many active cannabinoids. We have no means of knowing which cannabis combinations are beneficial and which are harmful.?
5. Long-term effects of smoking weed on the lungs may be harmful. Negative long term health effects may affect other parts of the body, for example, the brain. It also results in impairment of cognitive thinking for a short term.

Countries that have legalized cannabis:

Netherlands:?Sale through licensed sellers.

Canada, South Africa & Uruguay:?For recreational and medicinal purposes.?

Belgium:?Marijuana use (less than 3 gm in possession, no smoking in public).

Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, Barbados, Ecuador, and Cyprus:?Only for medicinal use.

Mexico:?Recreational marijuana (less than 5 gm in possession, but not sale or cultivation).

Belize:?Marijuana use (up to 10 gm in possession).

Georgia:?Only consumption is legal, not cultivation or sale for recreational purposes.

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Conclusion:

So, for concluding this article let me summarize it in few words. Smoking marijuana is not legal and production to even import, export of such thing can lead a person to an imprisonment from 1 to 10 or even 20 years. Smoking weed can cause lung diseases, difficulty with memory, forgetfulness; loss of coordination; challenges with thinking and problem solving and erroneous perception and lot more. But it still has some medical benefits and researchers believe it can be used for making medicines for HIV-AIDS, Cancer and lot more fatal diseases. In 2019, a petition has been filled by a Karnataka based trustee who demanded for the legalization of weed for medical purposes but it has been quashed by Supreme Court of India. So, the legalization of marijuana is still a matter of debating.