No complete ban on cannabis, medical use allowed: Centre to Delhi HC

The use of cannabis is not completely banned in the country as its medical and scientific use is allowed under the law the Centre has told the Delhi High Court which on Monday refused to advance the date of hearing of the plea seeking to legalise its use on various grounds including medicinal purposesThe bench headed by Justice Rajiv Shakhder refused to allow the early hearing application by the petitioner Great Legalisation Movement India Trust which contended that there were reports to suggest that cannabinoids helped in countering the impact of Covid19Looking at the board position the application cant be entertained at this junction We are trying to do whatever is possible the bench also comprising Justice Talwant Singh told counsel for the petitioner advocate Abhishek AvadhaniThe petition which is listed for further hearing in March has challenged provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act which prohibit the use of cannabis and has contended that the drug has medicinal and industrial benefitsThe petitioner has sought directions to the central government to frame rules permitting and regulating use of cannabis especially for medicinal purposesIn its affidavit filed last year the Centre urged the court to dismiss the petition with costs and claimed that it has adopted a balanced approach on cannabis by empowering the State governments to permit control and regulate the cultivation of any cannabis plant production manufacture possession transport import interstate export interstate sale purchase consumption or use of cannabis excluding charas for medical scientific and industrial purposesThe central government stated that the present legal framework regulating the usage of cannabis did not violate Articles 14 right to equality 191g freedom of trade 21 right to life or other fundamental rights guaranteed under the ConstitutionThere is no complete ban on cannabis under NDPS Act but can be used for medical scientific industrial horticultural purposes by taking requisite permissions from respective State Governments the affidavit filed by Director Narcotics Control Department of Revenue Ministry of Finance saidThe State governments are empowered to license the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and scientific purpose On similar lines it may be inferred that the cultivation for industrial horticultural purposes as provided in Section 14 of NDPS Act can be considered by the State Government it addedWhile exercising this power the State of Uttrakhand has allowed cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes and the hempbased products are available in the market and also available online the affidavit informedThe Centre also submitted that cannabinoids are not a firstline treatment and cautioned against the huge risk of diversion of cannabis for nonmedical useIt highlighted that as per a survey by the Ministry of Social Justice amp Empowerment cannabis and opioids are the next commonly used substances in India after alcohol and at the national level one in eleven cannabis users suffered from cannabis dependenceIn its response the Centre further clarified that under the NDPS Act there was a clear distinction between the various parts of cannabis plant namely the fiber flower and the seed and does not treat all of them and their derivative equallyThe seeds and leave when not accompanied by the tops have not been included in the definition of cannabis The Bhang which is an edible preparation of cannabis is also not controlled under the NDPS Act it saidThe petitioner has sought to declare as unconstitutional the provisions in the NDPS Act and Rules which prohibit and criminalise the use of cannabis and prescribe unreasonable restrictions with respect to activities related to itThe petitioner trust registered in Karnataka and in the forefront of the movement to decriminalise the use of cannabis has claimed there is not a single document which shows that it was lethal to humans and emphasises the use of cannabis was legal in several other countriesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever