The Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh, India, has decided to legalize the cultivation of Hemp. State law minister P.C. Sharma, in an interview with the press, clarified that the government would be legally allowing the growth of Hemp for medical purposes and other industrial purposes.
Sharma clarified that Hemp belongs to the species of marijuana but is used for medicinal purposes and cannot be used for recreational purposes. It is also used to manufacture fabric and bio-plastic, but as for now, it will be used for producing drugs for cancer treatment and other medicinal purposes. In his statement, he also said that expert help from international agencies would be taken to start this cultivation.
At present, cannabis is being legally cultivated in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand; the government of Himachal Pradesh is also mulling the idea of legalizing the growth of Hemp.
Marijuana or ganja cultivation is rampant around the Himalayan ranges in India. The hilly people literally live off them; they consume it on a daily basis. This attracts a lot of foreign tourists, who hideously go to these destinations nestled in the deep forests to have a puff of weed. There have been many discussions, debates, and numerous petitions filed to legalize ganja for medical purposes, but the government fears that the intoxicating property would cause more bad than good.
