Setback for weed legal-use campaign

Politician Shashi Tharoor, celebrity Milind Soman and Baba Ramdev are among those calling for the legalisation of marijuana (ganja), but the ongoing investigation involving actors is a big setback, campaigners say.

The arrest of actors Rhea Chakraborty, Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjana Galrani, and the subsequent ‘war on drugs’, obscures the medical benefits of marijuana, many are complaining.

A Twitter campaign with the hashtag #BlazeItUpForRhea is showing solidarity for Rhea. “We were making great headway until this media circus began. Now even the states planning to support medical usage and cultivation are delaying or scrapping it,” says Priya Mishra, the woman behind Hempvati, a campaign seeking legalisation of marijuana.

She says the TV coverage has been so detrimental that even patients who benefit from the use of weed are stopping out of fear.

“We were also looking at a uniform law but that seems like a lost dream. The only silver lining is that celebrities who were earlier silent are talking about it more openly,” she says. Research has shown the benefits of marijuana in the treatment of many conditions, including cancer, Priya says.

Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir are among the states that allow the farming of marijuana for medicinal and industrial use, but farmers are at risk. “They are arrested every other day as the contracts for farming are given to corporates and the law is murky,” she explains.

Current status

Marijuana was banned in India only in 1985. The law that governs banned it---The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act---is stringent.

“The law is primarily geared towards peddlers and is not as strict on those who consume the drug. There are also mandatory provisions to avoid false implications,” explains Sharass Chandra, advocate.

Commercial quantity

The law defines one kg as a commercial quantity. “Anything below that is generally ignored or subject to less stringent punishments,” he says. In a recent case in Nelamangala, near Bengaluru, two people were caught with 500g of marijuana. “They got bail in two days. At the most they may be sentenced to two years in jail,” he says.

The actors arrested have been charged with consumption and police have not recovered any contraband, which is critical to any conviction, says Sharass Chandra.

“It is easy to get bail in such a situation, but perhaps because they are high profile, an example may be being made of them. The case of Rhea is also intertwined with another investigation and that may be why the initial bail attempt was rejected,” he says.

Gear on sale

The sale of weed-related paraphernalia is legal. Slim Jim India is one of many companies that sell things like roach pads, rolling paper, bongs, chillums and more. “We were consumers first and we saw a space in the market and went for it. Now our site gets around 60,000 visitors and 2,000 orders per month,” says Nikunj Ahuja, partner at 4 Twenty Lifestyle, parent company.

The tobacco connection gives them leeway. “This strategy is used by other brands as well. They market their products for weed where it’s legal and for tobacco where weed is illegal,” he explains. The company pays import duty, GST and does everything else needed to run a legitimate business.

Woman in the space

Many attribute the intense scrutiny to the fact that women have been hauled up for ganja use.

Priya Mishra, the only female legalisation activist, says men within the movement look down upon her and call her names.

Is it really a gateway drug?

A lot of the bad reputation for marijuana comes from the fact that it is termed as a gateway drug. A relatively harmful substance that leads the user to hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. Dr Roshan Jain, addiction psychiatrist says that this is not entirely true. “This mainly comes into play when the drug is illegal. It exposes you to drug dealers, who in turn might lead you into harder drugs,” he says. He explains that the argument for legalisation takes this into account. “If you’re getting your cannabis from government approved dispensaries, you don’t tend to explore beyond what you need,” he says.

In the same breath he adds that India is not ready for legalisation. “Our legal system and mindsets are not mature enough to be able to regulate and monitor its usage and growth appropriately. But it is inevitable,” he says.

Criminalisation and stigma surrounding it also leads to less people seeking treatment when they have an addiction, he adds. “We need to make space in our legal system for rehabilitation, that’s the only solution to dealing with addiction,” he says.

Is it as bad as they say?

Dr Jain says that cannabis has no proven physical dependence or toxicity. “In fact when compared to alcohol and tobacco, it’s a much safer drug. I see a higher number of patients suffering more adversely with the former,” he says.

The repeated use of it can lead to psychological dependence, which he explains as - compulsion to take the drug, craving for it and difficulty in controlling the amount of the substance.

“But people can regularly use it and come off it without any major adverse effects. The media coverage given to it is unfair that way. It has led to a further stigmatisation of something that’s not as harmful as substances that are legal in the country,” he explains.

Legalisation = reckless usage?

A popular argument against legalisation is that it would create reckless usage of the drug. “I used to work in the UK, where it is illegal, and we did a study comparing the number of marijuana users there versus the number of users in the Netherlands where it has been legal for years. We found out that the UK has a higher number of users,” says Dr Jain. He adds that the same phenomenon can be seen in Indian states where bhang is legal.

Religion and weed

Bhang, a drink made from the same plant as smoking weed, is legal in certain states and it is even sold in government run shops. A legalisation campaigner was an invited speaker at the Kumbh Mela 2019, organised by the UP government. “I shared the stage with many politicians across the spectrum and they applauded me for my work,” she says.