With the Himachal Pradesh government inching closer to legalise cannabis (hemp) cultivation in the State, growers are upbeat and optimist about getting an economic boost, even as the concerns and its multiple effects on society cannot be ignored, including allurement among adolescents and youth towards the use-abuse of cannabis, the nexus between illegal producers and suppliers of cannabis getting stronger, the risk of pilferage, and the occurrence of amotivational syndrome.
A committee comprising lawmakers that explored the possibility of legal cultivation of cannabis has recently recommended cultivation of ‘non-narcotic use of cannabis for medicinal, industrial, and scientific use’.
Hemp is a botanical class of Cannabis sativa cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It is produced in parts of Himachal Pradesh though it is illegal under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
