Cannabis in India has been known to be used at least as early as 2000 BCE.[1] In Indian society, common terms for cannabis preparations include charas (resin), ganja (flower), and bhang (seeds and leaves), with Indian drinks such as bhang lassi and bhang thandai made from bhang being one of the most common legal uses.
As of 2000, per the UNODC the "prevalence of usage" of cannabis in India was 3.2%.[2] A 2019 study conducted by the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences reported that about 7.2 million Indians had consumed cannabis within the past year.[3] The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's "Magnitude of Substance Use in India 2019" survey found that 2.83% of Indians aged 10–75 years (or 31 million people) were current users of cannabis products. According to the UNODC's World Drug report 2016, the retail price of cannabis in India was US$0.10 per gram, the lowest of any country in the world.[4] A study by the German data firm ABCD found that New Delhi and Mumbai were the third and sixth largest cannabis consuming cities in the world in 2018, consuming 38.2 tonnes and 32.4 tonnes of cannabis respectively .[5]
Bhanga is mentioned in several Indian texts dated before 1000 CE. However, there is philological debate among Sanskrit scholars as to whether this bhanga can be identified with modern bhang or cannabis.[7]
Atharvaveda (c. 1500–1000 BCE) mentions bhanga as one of the five sacred plants that relieve anxiety. Sayana interpreted bhanga as a type of wild grass, but many scholars identify bhanga with cannabis.[9] The relevant verse:
To the five kingdoms of the plants which Soma rules as Lord we speak.
darbha, hemp, barley, mighty power: may these deliver us from woe,
According to Gerrit Jan Meulenbeld and Dominik Wujastyk, Chikitsa-sara-sangraha (c. late 11th century) by Vangasena is the earliest extant Indian text that features an uncontested mention of cannabis. It mentions bhanga as an appetiser and a digestive, and suggests it in two recipes for a long and happy life. Narayan Sarma's Dhanvantariya Nighantu, a contemporary text, mentions a narcotic of the plant.[7] Nagarjuna's Yogaratnamala (c. 12th–13th century) suggests that cannabis (mdtuldni) smoke can be used to make one's enemies feel possessed by spirits. Sharngadhara Samhita (13th century) also gives medicinal uses of cannabis, and along with ahiphena (opium poppy), mentions it as one of the drugs which act very quickly in the body.[7]
Cannabis also finds its mention in other historic scriptures like Dhanvantari Nighantu, Sarngandhara Samhita and Kayyadeva Nighantu. It is also referred in Ayurveda as an ingredient in various recipes of pain relievers and aphrodisiacs, but in small quantities. Ayurveda however does not use cannabis for smoking recipes.[12]
The Hindu god Shiva is said to have chosen cannabis as his favorite food, after having spent one night sleeping under the plant's leaves and when eating of it in the morning refreshed him. Another legend suggests that when the poison Halahala came out from the Samudra manthan, Shiva drank it to protect everyone from it. Later, bhang was used to cool him down. Shiva Purana suggests offering bhang to Shiva during the summer months. But not all devotees offer bhang to Shiva.[13]
Many Ayurvedic texts mention cannabis as vijaya, while tantric texts mention it as samvid.[9]
Colonial India
Portuguese India
Following the Portuguese seizure of Goa in 1510, the Portuguese became familiar with the cannabis customs and trade in India. Garcia de Orta, a botanist and doctor, wrote about the uses of cannabis in his 1534 work Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs and Medicinal Matters of India and of a Few Fruits. Garcia noted that bhang was used to improve work and appetite and enable labour, and "I believe that it is so generally used and by such a number of people that there is no mystery about it.”[14] Fifteen years later Cristobal Acosta produced the work A Tract about the Drugs and Medicines of the East Indies, outlining recipes for bhang.[15]
The British Parliament enacted a tax on bhang, ganja and charas in 1798, stating that the tax was intended to reduce cannabis consumption "for the sake of the natives' good health and sanity".[16] In 1894, the British Indian government completed a wide-ranging study of cannabis in India. The report's findings stated:
Viewing the subject generally, it may be added that the moderate use of these drugs is the rule, and that the excessive use is comparatively exceptional. The moderate use practically produces no ill effects. In all but the most exceptional cases, the injury from habitual moderate use is not appreciable. The excessive use may certainly be accepted as very injurious, though it must be admitted that in many excessive consumers the injury is not clearly marked. The injury done by the excessive use is, however, confined almost exclusively to the consumer himself; the effect on society is rarely appreciable. It has been the most striking feature in this inquiry to find how little the effects of hemp drugs have obtruded themselves on observation.
—Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895[17]
Process of making bhang in a Sikh village in Punjab, India. On the Hindu and Sikh festival of colors called Holi, it is a customary addition to some intoxicating drinks.
Even in Assam, where cannabis has been explicitly banned since 1958, it is consumed by thousands during the Ambubachi Mela. In 2015, the police did not stop devotees from consuming bhang, although they fined two people for smoking tobacco in public places, under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act.[25]
In November 2015, Uttarakhand legalized the cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes.[26] In June 2016 Pillares EXIM LLP based out of Vapi, Gujarat took a step towards cannabis legalization by launching HERBBOX as a one stop shop for smoking accessories in India.[27]Patanjali Ayurved CEO Balkrishna stated in February 2018 that his company had begun researching the benefits of cannabis and its extracts at its research and development facility in Haridwar, for use in the company's medicines and other products.[28] Madhya Pradesh's Law Minister, P.C. Sharma stated on 20 November 2019 that the state was considering legalising the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes.[29] Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh informed the State Assembly on 21 February 2020 that his government was considering legalising the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes.[30]
Indian law enforcement agencies seized a total of 182,622kg of ganja and 2,489kg of hashish in 2016.[31] Enforcement agencies eradicated 1,980 hectares of illicit cannabis cultivation in 2018, lower than the 3,446 hectares eradicated in 2017. The International Narcotics Control Board's 2019 annual report noted that "India is among those countries worldwide with the greatest extent of illicit cannabis cultivation and production.[32]
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's "Magnitude of Substance Use in India 2019" survey found that 2.83% of Indians aged 10–75 years (or 31 million people) were current users of cannabis products, with 10% of the population considered to be using cannabis "in a dependent pattern". The survey found that 20% of the population consumed bhang and 12%% consumed charas or ganja. It also noted that most cannabis users were male with 25% of the male population consuming cannabis and 10% of the female population. The survey found that cannabis use was most prevalent in Sikkim, where 7.3% of the population reported using cannabis, followed by Nagaland (4.7%), Odisha (4.7%) Arunachal Pradesh (4.2%) and Delhi (3.8%). The lowest cannabis use was reported in Puducherry, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Gujarat and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, all of which recorded about 0.1% of the population as having used cannabis.[33]
A study by the German data firm ABCD found that New Delhi and Mumbai were the third and sixth largest cannabis consuming cities in the world in 2018, consuming 38.2 tonnes and 32.4 tonnes of cannabis respectively.[5]
There is some evidence that Naxalites are invested in illegal production of Cannabis in some parts of India.[34]
Legal status
In most states, only government-authorised dealers are allowed to sell bhang.Bhang seller in Varanasi
Attempts at criminalising cannabis in British India were made, and mooted, in 1838, 1871, and 1877.[35]
The 1961 international treaty Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs classed cannabis with hard drugs. During the negotiations, the Indian delegation opposed its intolerance to the social and religious customs of India. As a compromise, the Indian Government promised to limit the export of Indian hemp, and the final draft of the treaty defined cannabis as:[36]
"Cannabis" means the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted, by whatever name they may be designated.
Bhang, which is prepared from leaves, was thus left out from the definition of "cannabis". This allowed India to carry on the tradition of large-scale consumption of bhang during Holi. The treaty also gave India 25 years to clamp down on recreational drugs. Towards the end of this exemption period, the Indian government passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 1985.[37]
The NDPS maintained the same definition of "cannabis", excluding bhang from its purview:
"cannabis (hemp)" means:
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;
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
any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared therefrom;
NDPS banned the production and sale of cannabis resin and flowers, but permitted the use of the leaves and seeds, allowing the states to regulate the latter.[38]
The NDPS Act doesn't mention anything about smoking paraphernalia, making it completely legal to buy or sell smoking accessories like rolling papers, smoking pipes, and more.
Cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes such as making industrial hemp or for horticultural use is legal in India. The National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances recognizes cannabis as a source of biomass, fiber, and high-value oil. The Government of India encourages the research and cultivation of cannabis with low THC content.[28]
Indian government is strict with the Cannabis policy. According to Section 20 of the NDPS Act, holding a small quantity of weed can land you in jail for rigorous imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of Rs. 10,000 or both.
Regional laws on cannabis
A woman sells bhang in Assam, where it is banned since 1958
Although NDPS allows consumption of bhang, various states have their own laws banning or restricting its use. In some states, only authorised dealers are allowed to sell bhang. Some states also have rules about the maximum amount of bhang one person can carry and the minimum age of the buyer.[39]
In Assam, The Assam Ganja and Bhang Prohibition Act, 1958, prohibits sale, purchase, possession and consumption of ganja and bhang.[40][25]
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.[41]
On 21 February 2017, Gujarat legalized bhang by removing it from the list of "intoxicating drugs" covered by section 23 of the Gujarat Prohibition Act. Gujarat's Minister of State for Home and Prohibition, Pradipsinh Jadeja, explained, "Bhang is consumed only as prasad of Lord Shiva. The state government has received complaints of misuse of prohibition act against those found drinking bhang. Hence, keeping in view the sentiments of public at large, the government has decided to exempt bhang from the ambit of Gujarat Prohibition Amendment Act. Bhang is less intoxicating as compared to ganja."[42]
Reform
In 2015, the first organised efforts to re-legalise cannabis in India appeared, with the holding of medical marijuana conferences in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi by the Great Legalisation Movement India.[43] Many articles and programs in the popular media have also begun to appear pushing for a change in cannabis laws.[44]
In March 2015, Lok Sabha MP for DhenkanalTathagata Satpathy stated on a Reddit AMA that he supported the legalisation of cannabis, and also admitted to having consumed the drug on several occasions when he was in college. He later repeated his comments on television and during interactions with the media.[45][46][47] On 2 November 2016, Lok Sabha MP Dharamvir Gandhi announced that he had received clearance from Parliament to table a Private Member's Bill seeking to amend the NDPS Act to allow for the legalised, regulated, and medically supervised supply of "non-synthetic" intoxicants including cannabis and opium.[48]
In July 2017, Union Minister of Women and Child DevelopmentManeka Gandhi suggested the legalization of medical marijuana on the grounds that it would reduce drug abuse and aid cancer patients at the second meeting of the group of ministers to examine the draft Cabinet note for the National Drug Demand Reduction Policy.[49] About a week after the minister's statement, the Union Government issued the first-ever licence to grow cannabis for research purposes to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with the Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO).[50]
On 12 December 2017, Viki Vaurora, the founder of the Great Legalisation Movement India, penned an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all members of Parliament advocating the urgent need to legalise the cultivation of cannabis and hemp for medical and industrial use.[51][52] In February 2018, the Prime Minister's Office sent a notification to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare directing the ministry to examine the potential benefits associated with cannabis and issue a response to the letter.[53]
On 5 June 2018, Lok Sabha MP from ThiruvananthapuramShashi Tharoor wrote an opinion piece expressing support for the legalization of cannabis, and concluding that it was "high time for India to embrace the health, business, and broader societal benefits that legally regulating cannabis can bring".[54]
In July 2019, the Delhi High Court agreed to hear a petition, filed by the Great Legalisation Movement Trust, challenging the ban on cannabis. The public interest litigation argues that grouping cannabis with other chemical drugs under the NDPS Act is "arbitrary, unscientific and unreasonable".[55]
The Indian Express published an editorial on 7 December 2020 supporting the legalisation of cannabis, and calling for it to be regulated and taxed like alcohol and tobacco products.[57]
In March 2021, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, said that the state government is coming up with a policy to allow controlled cultivation of hemp or cannabis in the state. The motivation behind this change is reported to be to boost the local economy of Himachal Pradesh.[58][59][60]
In March 2021, The State Government of Tripura announced it would form an expert panel to examine the viability of legalizing cannabis cultivation.
“There is a limited scope of revenue collection in Tripura. We have to depend on the central government due to this. The soil of Tripura is very fertile for cannabis cultivation but since it is not legal, many people are suffering financially here. If ganja becomes legal, it can be regulated, revenue can be collected and many people involved in cultivating it, illegally till now, can benefit financially”. - BJP MLA Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl.[61]
Medical research
The first medical cannabis clinic in India was opened in Koramangala, Bangalore on 1 February 2020.[62]
In popular culture
In film
Cannabis has often been depicted in Indian cinema. Historically, Hindi films have portrayed cannabis use negatively depicting the drug as being associated with an upper class hippie culture or as an intoxicating substance used by criminals. On the other hand, consumption of bhang was often celebrated in popular film songs such as Jai Jai Shiv Shankar and Khaike Paan Banaraswala and the famous track Manali trance. The negative portrayals of cannabis began to undergo a change from the 2000s. Films such as Shaitan (2011), Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012), Kapoor & Sons and The Blueberry Hunt (2016) feature urban middle-class protagonists using cannabis as form of relaxation. Go Goa Gone (2013) was described as the first Hindi-language stoner comedy. Bejoy Nambiar, who wrote and directed Shaitan, believes that "there's a culture of smoking up among today's youth and it's becoming more and more relevant in our movies."[63] Akshay Kumar smoked casually in the movie Good Newwz (2019), his highest-grossing film. Some movies such as Gully Boy (2019) touch upon the illicit trade of Cannabis in Mumbai.[64]
Related Research Articles
Bhang is an edible preparation made from the leaves of the cannabis plant originating from the Indian subcontinent. It was used in food and drink as early as 1000 BC in ancient India. Bhang is traditionally distributed during the spring festival of Maha Shivaratri and Holi. Bhang is mainly used in bhang shops, which sell the cannabis-infused Indian drinks bhang lassi and bhang thandai.
Charas is a cannabis concentrate made from the resin of a live cannabis plant and is handmade in the Indian subcontinent. The plant grows wild throughout Northern India along the stretch of the Himalayas and is an important cash crop for the local people. The difference between charas and hashish is that hashish is made from a dead cannabis plant and charas is made from a live one.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, commonly referred to as the NDPS Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that prohibits the production/manufacturing/cultivation, possession, sale, purchase, transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 August 1985. It was passed by both the Houses of Parliament, received assent from then President Giani Zail Singh on 16 September 1985, and came into force on 14 November 1985. The NDPS Act has since been amended four times — in 1988, 2001, 2014 and 2021. The Act extends to the whole of India and applies also to all Indian citizens outside India and to all persons on ships and aircraft registered in India.
Different religions have varying stances on the use of cannabis, historically and presently. In ancient history some religions used cannabis as an entheogen, particularly in the Indian subcontinent where the tradition continues on a more limited basis.
Cannabis culture describes a social atmosphere or series of associated social behaviors that depend heavily upon cannabis consumption, particularly as an entheogen, recreational drug and medicine.
The major drug laws of India are the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) and the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1988).
Cannabis in Guyana is illegal for all uses, but is both grown and consumed in the nation. Possession of 15 grams or over can result in charges of drug trafficking.
Cannabis in Namibia is illegal for recreational and medicinal uses, but cannabis, just like mandrax (methaqualone), are the most popular illicit drugs in the country. Cannabis also has a history of use as a traditional medicine by local indigenous communities. Per the 2011 UNODC report, the incidence of annual cannabis usage in Namibia was 3.9% as of 2000.
Cannabis has been illegal in Nepal since 1976, but the country has a long history of use of cannabis for Ayurvedic medicine, intoxicant and as a holy offering for Hindu god Shiva and continues to produce cannabis illicitly.
Cannabis in Germany has been legal for recreational usage by adults in a limited capacity since 1 April 2024, making it the ninth country in the world to legalise the drug. As of February 2024, it has been assessed that 4.5 million Germans use cannabis.
Cannabis is illegal in Pakistan for recreational use, although since September 2020, extracts of cannabis can be used for industrial and medical use. Cannabis is widely consumed in Pakistan as charas and bhang.
Cannabis in Sri Lanka is legally sold through Ayurveda herbal shops, and can be used for medical and scientific purposes if given a license by the Ministry of Health. For recreational usage cannabis is not legal. However, cannabis plays a major role in the traditional culture of the island, with the specific Sinhalese or Sanskrit names virapati (“hero-leaved”), capta (“light-hearted”), ananda (“bliss”), trilok kamaya and harshini indicating its various properties, such as inducing euphoria and heightening sexual energy.
In Thailand, cannabis, known by the name Ganja has recently had new laws passed through. Cannabis that has less than 0.2% THC, referred to as industrial hemp in the USA, was legalised on 9 June 2022. Medicinal cannabis, with no THC restrictions, was made legal in 2018 but required patients to obtain a prescription from a medical practitioner. Recreational cannabis is still illegal according to Thai law.
The list includes and details significant events that occurred in the global history of national-level implementations of, or changes made to, laws surrounding the use, sale, or production of the psychoactive drug cannabis.
Cannabis in South Korea is illegal for recreational use. In November 2018, the country's Narcotics Control Act was amended and use of medical cannabis became legal, making South Korea the first country in East Asia to legalize medical cannabis.
The Great Legalisation Movement India is a non-profit organisation working to legalise the use of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes in India. It was founded in November 2014 by Viki Vaurora. The social stigma associated with cannabis has long been prevalent among many communities in India. The campaign aims to educate people on the history and uses of cannabis and pave way for its legalisation to initiate a nationwide green industrial setup replacing thousands of ecologically damaging products with sustainable hemp-based alternatives.
Terms related to cannabis include:
The history of cannabis and its usage by humans dates back to at least the third millennium BC in written history, and possibly as far back as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B based on archaeological evidence. For millennia, the plant has been valued for its use for fiber and rope, as food and medicine, and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use.
Cannabis in Uganda was legalized as of the 5th of May, 2023 by the Constitutional Court after the law prohibiting its use was nullified. It was ruled that, "[...] since the provisions that banned dealing in miraa were not handled by parliament independent of the rest of the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015, it is only prudent that the entire law is nullified"
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the plant Cannabis sativa and its relatives Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis, the drug cannabis (drug) and the industrial product hemp.
↑ Ayyagari S (2007). ""Hori Hai": A Festival of Colours!! (review)". Asian Music. 38 (2). Johns Hopkins University Press: 151–153. doi:10.1353/amu.2007.0029. S2CID192201145.
Mills, James H. (2003). Cannabis Britannica: Empire, Trade, and Prohibition, 1800-1928. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN9780199249381.
Mills, James H. (2000). Madness, Cannabis and Colonialism: The 'Native Only' Lunatic Asylums of British India, 1857-1900. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN9780312233594.
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