{"id":36545,"date":"2025-01-31T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=36545"},"modified":"2025-02-01T10:54:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T05:24:21","slug":"hp-controlled-cultivation-cannabis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/31-01-2025\/hp-controlled-cultivation-cannabis","title":{"rendered":"HP\u2019s Project For Controlled Cultivation of Cannabis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Government Policy and Intervention; GS3\/Security Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a significant move, the <strong>Himachal Pradesh<\/strong> government has <strong>approved a pilot project<\/strong> for the controlled cultivation of cannabis, aiming to harness its medicinal and industrial potential.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It positions <strong>Himachal Pradesh as the fourth state in India<\/strong> to permit such cultivation, following <strong>Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu &amp; Kashmir<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Background and Rationale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cannabis is a naturally occurring weed found throughout Himachal Pradesh, yet its cultivation had been <strong>banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Recent amendments to the NDPS Act<\/strong> have allowed states to regulate cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes under specific licensing and regulatory conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Himachal Pradesh government\u2019s initiative aims to identify suitable cannabis varieties and cultivation practices, <strong>focusing on non-narcotic applications<\/strong> such as <em>textiles, paper, food, cosmetics, and biofuel.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Scenario<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Several countries<\/strong> like <em>Canada, United States of America, Japan, France, Italy, Hungary, China, Australia, Denmark, and <\/em><em>other European countries<\/em> are leading in <strong>hemp cultivation<\/strong> and <strong>manufacture of multi-utility products<\/strong> worldwide.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Presently, the Cannabis crop has been considered as a \u2018<strong>Trillion Dollar Crop\u2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By joining this global trend, Himachal Pradesh hopes to <strong>tap into the trillion-dollar cannabis market,<\/strong> which includes over 25,000 products.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Cannabis Sativa L. (Industrial Hemp)<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is commonly grown as a fiber, seed, biomass or other dual-purpose crop. There are more than 100 cannabinoids present in the plant among which <strong>Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) <\/strong>and <strong>Cannabidiol (CBD)<\/strong> are in major proportions.<br>&#8211; <strong>THC<\/strong> <strong>is psychoactive<\/strong> while <strong>CBD is a non-psychoactive compound<\/strong> and only due to presence of<strong> high THC (Assumed > 0.3%)<\/strong> in cannabis plants it is <strong>considered as a narcotic crop.\u00a0<\/strong><br><strong>Applications:<\/strong><br>&#8211; Industrial: THC &lt; 0.3%;<br>&#8211; Medicinal: THC > 0.3%<br>&#8211; <strong>Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)<\/strong>: For treatment of <strong>chronic diseases<\/strong> or symptoms, including <em>Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn\u2019s disease, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, cancer and chronic pain.<\/em><br>&#8211; <strong>Cannabidiol (CBD):<\/strong> It has putative therapeutic applications for treating <em>psychosis, affective and seizure disorders, inflammation, and neurodegenerative disease.<\/em><br>&#8211; <strong>Hemp: <\/strong>It produces some of the<strong> best and most durable fibers<\/strong> of natural origin.<br>1. Hemp <strong>seed, oil and oilcake<\/strong> are used in <em>cosmetics, personal care and pharmaceuticals<\/em>, and can be <em>an alternative food protein source<\/em> or <em>as an animal feed.<\/em><br><strong>Legality of Cannabis in India<\/strong><br>&#8211; Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971) and the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988).<br>1. India adopted the <strong>Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) <\/strong>in 1985, and places cannabis alongside drugs like heroin.<br>&#8211; <strong>Article 47 of the Constitution of India (DPSP): <\/strong>It prohibits harmful drugs and drinks.<br>&#8211; <strong>Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act):<\/strong> Marijuana is illegal in India.<br>1. <strong>Special Provision: Section 14 of the NDPS Act<\/strong> empowers the Government to, by general or special order, <strong>permit cultivation of cannabis<\/strong> exclusively <strong>for horticultural and industrial purposes.<\/strong><br>2. <strong>Exclusions of the Act:<\/strong> Bhang, which is made with the leaves of the plant, is <strong>not mentioned in the NDPS Act.<\/strong><br>1. It comes under the <strong>jurisdiction of State Governments<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Controlled Cultivation of Cannabis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Controlled cannabis cultivation <strong>focuses on non-narcotic applications<\/strong>, particularly in the pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Varieties with minimal intoxicating properties, <strong>commonly known as hemp<\/strong>, will be cultivated with <strong>THC content kept below 0.3% to prevent misuse<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hemp&#8217;s stalks, leaves, and seeds can be converted into textiles, paper, food, cosmetics, and biofuel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Economic Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>pilot project<\/strong> is expected to generate significant revenue, with estimates suggesting an <strong>additional income<\/strong> of Rs 500 crore annually for the state.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This move aligns with global trends, as countries like the <strong>US, Canada, and Germany<\/strong> have already embraced controlled cannabis cultivation for its industrial and medicinal benefits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite the potential benefits, concerns have been raised about regulatory compliance, quality control, and preventing diversion to the illicit market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/agriculture\/himachal-pradesh-launches-pilot-project-for-cannabis-farming-to-capitalise-its-medicinal-and-industrial-value\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: DTE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a significant move, the Himachal Pradesh government has approved a pilot project for the controlled cultivation of cannabis, aiming to harness its medicinal and industrial potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36545"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36566,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36545\/revisions\/36566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}