Excise officials are awaiting lab results to confirm the presence of cannabis in the beverage seized from a juice shop near the Kozhikode beach recently.
This was after the shop owner claimed that he had only mixed hemp seeds in the beverage, which was legally permitted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Abu Abraham, Deputy Commissioner, Excise, told The Hindu on Wednesday that it was illegal to use cannabis in any form. “A case has already been registered. If the presence of cannabis is confirmed in the chemical lab results, we will initiate action against the shop owner. We have requested the lab officials to speed up the tests. Hopefully, the results will be available soon,” he said.
