INTRODUCTION
Weed, synonymous to Cannabis or Marijuana is quite popular in India with a variety of names in colloquial languages such as Charas, Ganja, Bhang, and Chillum and Joint. The legalization of Weed has become a very vogue topic of debate in modern times transcontinentally. Weed in India is historically relevant and the credit goes to its mention in the Vedas and its association with the great Hindu God Bholenath or Shiva the destroyer. Its popularity has tremendously grown in recent years among the individuals mostly youths. Despite being illegal in India, its consumption has no bounds among the Indians especially during the festival of colors Holi where it is consumed in the form of Bhang.
BAN OF MARIJUANA- A TIMELINE
The first transcontinental treaty which discussed Narcotic Drugs was the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed in 1961 and it was signed by over 184 countries including India who promised to implement this treaty in the Indian Territory. The Treaty categorized Marijuana, heroin, cocaine etc. under one heading namely hard drugs. Production of Marijuana and its supply was also prohibited under this treaty provided if it was for medicinal purposes.[1] The 1961 UN Treaty enumerated substances that fall under its ambit, including but not limited to Cocaine, Opium, Morphine, heroin, marijuana, Psychotropic Drugs, by-products of these drugs and other drugs which have equal narcotic-like effects. After withstanding the pressure from the United States of America for 25 years since 1961 in order to keep marijuana legal eventually the Indian Parliament during the reign of Rajiv Gandhi passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act in November 1985 which imposed a ban on usage and sale of marijuana.[2] The NDPS Act was targeted to fulfill India’s obligations for the 1961 US-supported International Treaty.
As per the NDPS Act 1985, marijuana is criminalized. If any person is found in the possession or involved in the trade, transportation and consumption of marijuana, he is subjected to
- Jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees, in case of cultivation.
- A penalty of 10,000 rupees or a jail term of 6 months to 1 year, in case of possession (small quantities).
Following are the small and commercial quantities of various drugs in India:[3]
Heroin: 5 grams- 250 grams
Cocaine: 2 grams- 100 grams
Hashish or Charas: 100 grams- 1 kg
Opium: 25 grams- 2.5 kgs
Ganja: 1kg- 20 kgs
If an individual is found in possession of commercial quantities, imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of two lakh rupees by the Court.
A repeated offender can be penalized for 30-years imprisonment.
The court may, for reasons to be written down in the judgment, impose a fine which can exceed two lakh rupees.[4]
Despite constantly pressurizing India to implement 1961 treaty and make marijuana illegal, United States has legalized marijuana in 27 states for medicinal purposes and 11 states for enjoyment purposes After analyzing the current scenario in the United States in case of marijuana, it can be clearly concluded that it was nothing more than a conspiracy by American Pharmaceutical companies and Liquor and Tobacco companies.[5]
PROS OF LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA[6]
In 2017, Maneka Gandhi the then Union Minister for Women and Child Development was of the opinion that Marijuana should be legalized in India as it would put a check on drug abuse.
Lok Sabha MP from Odisha Tathagata Satpathy in 2015 put forward the idea of legalizing Marijuana in the country as it could help counter alcohol addiction.[7]
1. Curb on Illegal Trade and Consorted Crimes – With the decriminalization of marijuana, black market production and distribution will be substituted by an organized and legal overboard industry since rules and regulations by the Governmental authorities will regulate the production and distribution of marijuana and market will be controlled by the government, farmers, merchants etc. rather than criminals or drug dealers.
2. Marijuana addiction is rare – Epidemiologically analyzing, the addiction rate of marijuana among people is only 9% which means only 9 of the people are clinically dependent of it in comparison to Tobacco, alcohol and cocaine which stand at 32%, 15% and 16% respectively.
3. Tax Revenue to the government – Decriminalization of Marijuana can enable the government to impose taxes on it which will in return incur a significant amount of revenue which otherwise go in the hands of Italian and Israeli drug cartels.
4. Enhanced Job Opportunities – Decriminalization of Marijuana for the purpose of recreation and medical treatments can provide a plethora of jobs in India which will decrease India’s unemployment rate and thus poverty to a significant extent.
5. Abundant Medical Benefits – As per studies conducted, Marijuana has many medicinal properties that can treat Glaucoma and put a check ob spread of Cancer to different organs of the body. It is also advantageous in reducing Anxiety and decelerating Alzheimer’s disease. It is also a boon for metabolism and is believed to boost creativity among individuals.
6. Useful to Natives – In many Indian states like Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the cultivation of Marijuana takes place, it is the sole source of income for many natives. Nevertheless, it is a prohibited substance, the farmers are compelled to sell it at a very minimal price to drug dealers and they also confront pressure from authorities Legalization of Marijuana will prove to be of great advantage to these farmers as the government will regulate its cultivation and distribution by fixing a minimum price for the sale of marijuana so that the farmers are no forced to sell it in the loss. The market for Marijuana will also increase as not only drug dealers but pharmaceutical companies and the government will also but marijuana for medicinal and export purposes.
REASONS WHY TO PANIC AND NOT TO GO ORGANIC[8]:
Under the NDPS Act, India has made numerous laws connected to regulating drug usage in the nation. Use of drugs may have variety of ill- effects on body and mind of people which can be direct or indirect. Drug Addiction and its heavy use has become a significant health concern and can be conjoined with the number of crimes taking place in society. The entire idea of banning drugs mostly revolves around the aforesaid reasons. If ban is lifted from drugs these problems can cause severe damage to society in general and individuals in specific. Crime rates would increase tremendously as due to the narcotic effects of such drugs on the mind, individuals tend to lose control of their senses and commit crimes as they are not in state of mind after drug consumption to think of the consequences of the offenses committed by them.
With the number of social concerns already present in the society, legalizing drugs will only be an addition to such concerns. Society and government already have a wide range of issues to deal with so in such scenario legalization of drugs will only overburden the society. Alcohol and Tobacco are causing severe damages to the health of people and we definitely do not want to another harmful substance to the list. Alcohol addiction is also a cause of domestic violence in the country and Tobacco is also physically injurious. Despite of drugs being prohibited in the country, people consume them after acquiring them illegally. It is hard to imagine what will be the condition if the drugs are legalized in the nation. Legalizing of drugs in a society where alcohol addiction and tobacco consumption is already so prevalent would only add fuel to the fire and make the situation worst.
CONCLUSION
In the nutshell after carefully analyzing and pondering over advantages as well as disadvantages of decriminalization in my point of view, ban on drugs should be released partially and not absolutely. This means that the government should lift the ban from those drugs when it can be advantageous for medicinal purposes. Those drugs which are injurious to public health should not be legalized. If legalization of all the drugs happens then there might be a swarm of drug abuse and drug-related death in the nation which is why complete decriminalization is not a very clever idea to implement in a country like ours where alcohol and tobacco addiction are so prevalent. The well-bridled drug industry and the market would provide drug consumers with good quality and appropriate doses of the same which will in turn lower the cases of drug overdose with some drugs.
[1] https://www.indianfolk.com/case-legalising-marijuana-india/
[2] Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty (13 Dec 2019) Is smoking weed legal in India? Know these laws
https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/the-single-convention-on-narcotic-drugs.html
[3] Prachi Darji (9 August 2019) Is Weed or Marijuana Legal in India https://www.myadvo.in/blog/is-weed-or-marijuana-legal-in-india/
[4]https://dor.gov.in/sites/default/files/Narcotic-Drugs-and-Psychotropic-Substances-Act-1985.pdf
[5] Apeksha Pandita (13 Sept 2019) Why Marijuana in India is banned – a 44 billion dollar conspiracy https://www.myadvo.in/legal-news/why-marijuana-in-india-is-banned-a-44-billion-dollar-conspiracy
[6]Surya Solanki (19 Nov 2014) https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/legalize-marijuana/
[7]Bobins Abraham (Nov 21, 2019) After Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh is set to legalize Cultivation of Cannabis for Medicinal purposes https://www.indiatimes.com/
[8]Malavika Jayakumar (2018) Legalization of Drugs in India IJLMH Volume 2 Issue 1 https://www.ijlmh.com/
This article has been written by Ananya Dubey student 3rd-year B.A.LL.B at Ramaiah Institute of Legal Studies.
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