poornima lagadapati
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The investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has revealed evidence of usage of marijuana by him and his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, who has been arrested for the same. Cannabis or marijuana is a native Indian plant that finds place in Indian culture. Tracing the history of war on drugs, VRINDA SINGH OBEROI writes on the legal dichotomy between criminalisation of marijuana and legalisation of bhaang by the Indian state.
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THE drug angle in Rhea Chakraborty- Sushant Singh Rajput case has generated enough conversation in the country on the use, consumption and possession of our native plant Cannabis Sativa.
All over the world, cannabis is being talked about for its benefits in alleviating pain and suffering from cancer patients to depression patients alike. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says 3.2% of India uses cannabis.
In 2018, the Central Council For Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), a research body under the Ministry of AYUSH, announced that it had found use of cannabis as a restorative drug for cancer patients. A 2019 study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reported that 7.2 million Indians have consumed cannabis within the last two years.
India has seen its fair share of calls for legalisation of cannabis.
Starting in 2015, we have seen proposals and all from politicians putting forth proposals to cultivate, process and consume legalised marijuana in India.
In March 2015, Lok Sabha MP Tathagat Satpathy started a Reddit Ask Me Anything platform and first criticized the ban on cannabis as “elitist” and as “an Indian overreaction to the scare created in the world by the United States of America”.
We as a nation are imprisoning our intellectuals, activists and youth. We are losing our collective consciousness and ourselves; something bhaang purportedly helps with.
In 2016, Lok Sabha MP Dharmvir Gandhi tabled a Private Member’s Bill for legalised supply of opium, marijuana that sought to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).
Again in 2016, Romesh Bhattacharji, former Commissioner of Central Bureau of Narcotics- the same agency that is behind Rhea Chakarvorty’s arrest- said, “This needs to be debated in the face of such stiff ignorance which often takes root in the moral high grounds people take after being influenced by the UN conventions. This law [NDPS Act] has been victimizing people since 1985″.
(Credit: Soumyadeep Paul, Source: Creative Common)
Nativity of Cannabis to the Indian subcontinent
The Cannabis plant is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Like Homo Sapiens were to Africa, Marijuana is to India. Its first uses have been found to date back to 2000 BCE. The ancient plant finds mention in the Rigveda (c. 1700–1100 BCE), Atharvaveda (c. 1500–1000 BC), and is used in many medical preparations in Sushruta Samhita (c. 600 BCE). India traded it with Central Asia, from where it moved to Europe and finally made its way to the Americas.
The British made multiple attempts- in 1838, 1871, and 1877- to criminalize and tax cannabis in British India. The prime reason for this was the commercial aspect linked to taxation of cotton as cannabis-hemp can be processed to make a more durable fabric.
Back in 1961, the International Treaty Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs classed cannabis with hard drugs. Proud of its culture and history, the Indian delegation opposed it on the basis of intolerance to the social and religious customs of India. As a compromise, the Indian Government promised to limit the export of Indian hemp.
The final draft of the treaty defined cannabis as “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.”
This kept Bhaang out of the legal definition of Cannabis and paved the way for its sale, often at government shops, and consumption in many states across India. We won a battle of semantics since there is no chemical distinction between bhaang, marijuana, weed, ganja, or charas.
The Science of Cannabis
The cannabis plant has two chemicals that are often time discussed. They are Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
So the government banned the recreational use of weed but allowed its use for customary and religious practices. Therefore, as long as we call it bhaang, and not weed, hash, charas, or ganja, we are on the safe side of the law.
Both CBD and THC have the exact same molecular structure: 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms. However, despite their similar chemical structures, CBD and THC don’t have the same psychoactive effects. CBD is psychoactive, just not in the same manner as THC. In fact, CBD has been shown to help with anxiety, depression, and seizures.
Bhaang has both THC and CBD as active components.
———-
THE drug angle in Rhea Chakraborty- Sushant Singh Rajput case has generated enough conversation in the country on the use, consumption and possession of our native plant Cannabis Sativa.
All over the world, cannabis is being talked about for its benefits in alleviating pain and suffering from cancer patients to depression patients alike. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says 3.2% of India uses cannabis.
In 2018, the Central Council For Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), a research body under the Ministry of AYUSH, announced that it had found use of cannabis as a restorative drug for cancer patients. A 2019 study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences reported that 7.2 million Indians have consumed cannabis within the last two years.
India has seen its fair share of calls for legalisation of cannabis.
Starting in 2015, we have seen proposals and all from politicians putting forth proposals to cultivate, process and consume legalised marijuana in India.
In March 2015, Lok Sabha MP Tathagat Satpathy started a Reddit Ask Me Anything platform and first criticized the ban on cannabis as “elitist” and as “an Indian overreaction to the scare created in the world by the United States of America”.
We as a nation are imprisoning our intellectuals, activists and youth. We are losing our collective consciousness and ourselves; something bhaang purportedly helps with.
In 2016, Lok Sabha MP Dharmvir Gandhi tabled a Private Member’s Bill for legalised supply of opium, marijuana that sought to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).
Again in 2016, Romesh Bhattacharji, former Commissioner of Central Bureau of Narcotics- the same agency that is behind Rhea Chakarvorty’s arrest- said, “This needs to be debated in the face of such stiff ignorance which often takes root in the moral high grounds people take after being influenced by the UN conventions. This law [NDPS Act] has been victimizing people since 1985″.
(Credit: Soumyadeep Paul, Source: Creative Common)
Nativity of Cannabis to the Indian subcontinent
The Cannabis plant is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Like Homo Sapiens were to Africa, Marijuana is to India. Its first uses have been found to date back to 2000 BCE. The ancient plant finds mention in the Rigveda (c. 1700–1100 BCE), Atharvaveda (c. 1500–1000 BC), and is used in many medical preparations in Sushruta Samhita (c. 600 BCE). India traded it with Central Asia, from where it moved to Europe and finally made its way to the Americas.
The British made multiple attempts- in 1838, 1871, and 1877- to criminalize and tax cannabis in British India. The prime reason for this was the commercial aspect linked to taxation of cotton as cannabis-hemp can be processed to make a more durable fabric.
Back in 1961, the International Treaty Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs classed cannabis with hard drugs. Proud of its culture and history, the Indian delegation opposed it on the basis of intolerance to the social and religious customs of India. As a compromise, the Indian Government promised to limit the export of Indian hemp.
The final draft of the treaty defined cannabis as “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.”
This kept Bhaang out of the legal definition of Cannabis and paved the way for its sale, often at government shops, and consumption in many states across India. We won a battle of semantics since there is no chemical distinction between bhaang, marijuana, weed, ganja, or charas.
The Science of Cannabis
The cannabis plant has two chemicals that are often time discussed. They are Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
So the government banned the recreational use of weed but allowed its use for customary and religious practices. Therefore, as long as we call it bhaang, and not weed, hash, charas, or ganja, we are on the safe side of the law.
Both CBD and THC have the exact same molecular structure: 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms. However, despite their similar chemical structures, CBD and THC don’t have the same psychoactive effects. CBD is psychoactive, just not in the same manner as THC. In fact, CBD has been shown to help with anxiety, depression, and seizures.
Bhaang has both THC and CBD as active components.