Tag: ganja

As Part of Ganja Crackdown, Hyderabad Police Are Looking Through People’s Phones

A report by The News Minute has highlighted that in what could be a glaring infringement upon individuals’ right to privacy, cops have been keying in ‘ganja’ to find evidence of consumption or peddling in chats.

New Delhi: The Hyderabad police has been checking the phones of people to find out whether they are peddling or consuming ganja, The News Minute has reported.

The raids correspond to the the city police’s attempts to “eliminate ganja” and its use from the city.

The report notes that the Commissioner of Police’s instructions have authorised police stations to carry out raids and searches to nab those who peddle and consume ganja in the city.

A video showing police officers asking for the phones of citizens has been shared multiple times.


TNM has reported that there have been allegations that police have been searching chats with words like “ganja” to look for related conversations that might indicate involvement with consuming or peddling it.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Zone, Gajarao Bhupal told TNM that people are “cooperating” with the phone checks and “no one is complaining”. Bhupal claimed it was not as if police were forcing anybody.

“The public can deny giving their phone. However, we will then have to see what legal provisions apply,” the south zone DCP said, adding that police has so far not faced an issue with checking phones.

A Telangana high court lawyer, along with other rights activists, has noted that checks like these are illegal and unconstitutional.

“The cops have no right to randomly check phones of people. If they wish to do so, they have to do it by following a procedure established by law,” lawyer Karam Komireddy said.

In 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled that Indians enjoy a fundamental right to privacy, that it is intrinsic to life and liberty and thus comes under Article 21 of the Indian constitution. Notably for Hyderabad police, the apex court had noted:

“Privacy has both positive and negative content. The negative content restrains the state from committing an intrusion upon the life and personal liberty of a citizen. Its positive content imposes an obligation on the state to take all necessary measures to protect the privacy of the individual.”

Earlier too, the Hyderabad cops had stoked controversy for collecting fingerprints and photographs as part of Operation Chabutra, TNM has reported.

The Hyderabad police’s enthusiasm to curb the use of ganja comes amidst renewed conversation concerning the penalisation and methods used by law enforcement against drugs.

Amidst hearings in media spotlight in the cruise drugs case in which the Narcotics Control Bureau has held Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan, and others, there is conversation on a possible need for demarcation between kinds of drugs.

In India for instance, the crackdown against ganja has been deemed out of place by many commentators.

Abhinav Srinivasan, for one, points out in a piece on The Wire Science titled, ‘It’s High Time India Reclaims Its Ganja‘, that the the scientific and colonial history of cannabis offers valuable lessons on why its illegality deserves reexamination.

In December last year, The Wire had reported on how India has voted in favour of a highly divided resolution in the UN Commission for National Drugs to remove cannabis from the category of most dangerous drugs.

The Law in India Needs to Distinguish Between Painkillers and Narcotics

When it comes to medicinal drugs, the NDPS Act reeks of thoughtlessness and its stringent provisions treat everyone selling a chronic painkiller as a drug lord.

If you have ever suffered from moderate back pain, muscle pain, dental pain, or god forbid, cancer or heart disease, it is very likely that you consumed Tramadol. Sold commonly under the brand of ‘Ultracet’ and ‘Spasmo-proxyvon’, Tramadol painkillers are widely prescribed by dentists, orthopedicians and oncologists across the world. The drug is a part of the National List of Essential Medicines of India 2011.

In 2018, the government of India brought Tramadol under the draconian Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. It is listed as item 110 Y in the Schedule to the Act. Following this change, hundreds of individuals have been jailed for possessing, storing or selling Tramadol tablets if they fail to follow the due process. The NDPS Act is one of the strictest laws in the country. In fact, until 2014, if someone was found guilty twice of dealing narcotic drugs in large quantities, then the court was obligated to impose the death penalty on such an offender. Today, the death penalty in such cases is optional.

Caught in the numbers game

The fate of those charged under the NDPS Act is generally decided by the quantity of contents involved. For every drug, the Act defines a ‘small’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘commercial quantity’. Offences involving commercial quantities are non-bailable and attract a minimum imprisonment of 10 years, extendable up to 20 years. The commercial quantity of Tramadol is 250g. Bail under the NDPS Act is subject to stringent restrictions on the court’s discretion to release an undertrial. So, if a medical store owner stocks 600 tablets of Tramadol-Paracetamol tablets that they cannot produce bills for, they should be prepared to spend 10-20 years behind bars besides finding it near impossible to be released on bail.

To give some context, for chronic back pain, up to 10 of these tablets per day for 4 weeks can be prescribed. 600 tablets can thus be safely consumed by just two patients with chronic back pain in a month.

The NDPS Act with respect to medicinal drugs reeks of thoughtlessness. The Act does not specify whether it is the weight of the controlled salt or of the whole tablet that should be considered when determining commercial quantity. The total weight of 600 Tramadol-Paracetamol tablets is approximately 250g, of which over 200g is Paracetamol while just 22.5g constitutes Tramadol. In the Hirasingh vs State judgement in April 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the weight of the whole drug should be used to decide if the stock falls under commercial quantity or not. Paracetamol tablets (commonly sold as Crocin etc.) can be easily found in neighbourhood shops and can be legally purchased without a doctor’s prescription. Then, why should its quantity be included when calculating the weight of the ‘narcotic drug?’

A single bench of the Delhi High Court recently raised a poser on a possibly unwitting fallout of the Hirasingh vs State judgment:

“Hypothetically, a family where there are a number of people having chronic cough problem procures 10 bottles of Codeine cough syrup before embarking on a trip to ensure adequate supply of the cough syrup, would be deemed to be in possession of a commercial quantity of Codeine, and would face a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.”

Codeine is another medicinal compound covered under the NDPS act, and its commercial quantity is defined at 1 kg. The commercial quantity of ganja is 20 kg. Thus, anyone found in possession of 19 kgs of ganja would face a lesser punishment compared to someone with 10 bottles of Codeine cough syrup or 600 Tramadol-Paracetamol tablets.

It is unjust to assume that a person dealing in medicinal drugs such as Tramadol and Codeine intends to use them for illicit purposes. The principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ does not apply to the NDPS Act, as mere possession in violation of any order or notification under the Act is an offence, a clear resonance with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). If you do not have a bill and/or a doctor’s prescription for the medicine covered under the NDPS Act, then in the eyes of the law, you have been involved in illicit possession/trafficking of drugs. Not everyone selling a chronic painkiller is a drug lord, just like not everyone criticising the government is a terrorist.

A Libyan police officer views a haul of prescription drug Tramadol seized from a shipping container in Tripoli March 3, 2011. Caption and credit: brqnetwork/Flickr, CC BY 2.0

A Libyan police officer views a haul of prescription drug Tramadol seized from a shipping container in Tripoli March 3, 2011. Caption and credit: brqnetwork/Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Why was Tramadol brought under the narcotics Act?

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic. Like any painkiller, extended use of Tramadol tablets can lead to dependence and have opioid-like effects. However, according to the World Health Organisation, Tramadol is generally considered as a drug with low potential for dependence. There is little evidence of intoxication from Tramadol alone. Cases of extreme intoxication due to Tramadol are almost always found in opium and alcohol addicts. On its own, Tramadol is found to be almost 10 times safer and less potent than an analgesic like Morphine. And yet, the commercial quantity for both Morphine and Tramadol is defined at 250 g.

One of the most widely cited reasons for bringing Tramadol under the NDPS Act in 2018 was its suspected abuse by terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram to alleviate pain. Huge consignments of Tramadol tablets have been held in parts of West Africa, which are claimed to have originated from India and China.

While this is certainly worrying, conviction in current Tramadol related cases doesn’t depend on whether someone actually, and knowingly contributed to illicit trade with terrorist groups. Laws such as UAPA and NDPS are stringent because it is assumed that offenders under these acts are a threat to society at large. A family carrying bottles of Codeine cough syrup or a pharmacist selling Tramadol without checking for medical prescriptions may be wrongdoings. But they cannot be classified as ‘threats’ to society, especially considering the medicinal value of these drugs.

Imprisonment takes away crucial years, not just from an individual but from an entire family. Thus, it should be used judiciously, given only in cases where at least an intent to harm is established. Even if Tramadol cannot be removed from the NDPS Act immediately, courts should be proactive in protecting the innocent or those committing minor offences. Possessing or selling medicines listed under the Act, whose use is largely bona fide, without the required paperwork should not automatically amount to rigorous imprisonment. Else, many small and medium scale pharmacists will continue to be incarcerated for years and patients in genuine need of Tramadol may find it increasingly difficult to procure the medicine.

Sanat Sogani and Akshat Sogani are alums of Ashoka University.

Note: The above bio was changed on November 4, 2022, at the authors’ request.

Hippies, Hashish and ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’

Kathmandu in the 1960s and ‘70s was a serene, peaceful and cosmopolitan place that attracted travelers, seekers and filmmakers.

The year 1971 was marked with several ‘big victories’ – in politics, cricket and in war – all of which had long term implications for India. The national mood was buoyant, even if the country continued to struggle with endemic problems.

Fifty years later, we look back at those times and evoke some of that mood. In a series of articles, leading writers recall and analyse key events and processes that left their mark on a young, struggling but hopeful nation.

Some stories, like rolling stones, gather side stories along the way. This is one of them. It involves making a new friend, her chance meeting with an idolised Indian film director, actor and writer, and a cult movie that gained a place in the hearts of Indian film buffs. It put Kathmandu on the map for many and ultimately is responsible for my life in Canada.

Back in October 1969, I returned to Kathmandu after six months in London, where my baby daughter Anna was born.  After that long absence, I was made aware that Kathmandu had reached the pinnacle of the hippie invasion, with young people from the west descending on the valley in droves.

I had originally travelled overland from London to Kathmandu in a bus in 1966. After four months, over a lack of finances, I had to leave but did find work in Bangkok. As soon as I could, I returned to the Nepal I loved and, in less than a year, found work with the British Council. At that time I met my husband, who had been invited by Prince Basundhara to open a Japanese restaurant. After a whirlwind romance, we decided to get married.

My life certainly wasn’t all domestic bliss, as Minoru, my Japanese husband was a workaholic and we rarely spent time together. In the early morning in our garden, he taught Aikido, the Japanese martial art, to local young men. Then shopped for his restaurant, Fujikin at the Soaltee Hotel, he worked lunchtimes and then opened again in the evening, working until late into the night seven days a week. There was little time for me.

After seeing some of my photos, it had been suggested to me by Richard Neville, the editor of Oz, an underground magazine in London, that I send them some hippie related material. I knew that at the most important shrine of Hinduism at Pashupatinath, where each year at Shivaratri, sadhus from all over India would arrive to sit all night and smoke charas, hashish. Now, it had become a prime place for hippies to sit down and smoke with the sadhus. The sadhu’s regard cannabis as divine. The sadhus wore earrings, had decorated shoulder bags and long matted hair. Later hippies started growing dreadlocks and also carried decorated bags. Both seemed to be renouncing the material world; the hippies, however, did need some money.

Also read: From Karachi To Bay of Bengal, How the Indian Navy Played a Stellar Role in the 1971 War

With my new motherhood, I did not get too involved with the hippie scene. All young people who arrived with little funds, who stayed in local homes or small guesthouses were believed to be hippies by the authorities. More and more were travelling overland to trek or to learn about the culture rather than drop out – the hippie scene was not as big as it was made out to be. But maybe they just stood out more, with their behaviour and colourful clothes.

Kami Katentsuka and Minoru on their wedding day. Photo: Author provided

My love for Kathmandu was so strong I couldn’t think of living elsewhere. I took walks with my little daughter Anna, who would communicate with all beings, human or furry. She loved the Brahma bull that wandered the bazaar, and we watched in wonder when locals collected his urine and blessed themselves by touching their foreheads with it. We could mix and mingle easily and locals and visitors were interested in each other. I contented myself with just living in this enchanted city.

One good quality Minoru had was his habit of bringing home people whom he thought I might help or befriend. Many travellers who came to Nepal were not regular tourists and wanted extended stays to truly experience Kathmandu life. Often, they wanted to work in Minoru’s restaurant. This is when Genise Gill stepped into my life. She was an attractive young woman with Indian roots, living with her family in British Columbia, Canada.

Genise, after months of travel in India with her brother, arrived in Kathmandu with dwindling funds, to wait for her mother, who was to visit from Vancouver, Canada. Genise was different from the mass of travellers descending on the Valley. She was smart, down to earth and determined to find work. She discovered Fujikin restaurant while visiting the Soaltee Hotel, and enquired whether Minoru could give her a job. He was used to foreigners asking about work, but his policy was to only employ local Tibetan men who looked more Japanese. He did, however, bring her home to see what I could do. We hit it off at our first meeting, and from then on Genise played an important role in my life. We quickly became friends and to start off I offered her some part-time babysitting for Anna.

I was having difficulty finding clothes in Kathmandu, as there were few modern shops for western clothes.  Genise who was resourceful, had a good eye for fashion and tailored a couple of garments for me. Then she started to design clothes based on Nepali styles with good local fabrics. I suggested that she have a fashion show and I would contact all female embassy and aid workers and invite them to the event.

Among my friends was the larger-than-life Boris Lissanavitch, known for his friendship with former King Tribhuvan, and it was he who opened the doors for tourism in Kathmandu in 1951, around the time of King Mahendra’s coronation. Boris offered space in his rambling heritage Hotel Royal for the show. With the tailoring, and babysitting Genise was able to support herself until her mother arrived in the valley.

Also read: Remembering ‘Anand’ and Its Gallows Humour of an India at Ease With Its Differences

Genise’s babysitting also helped me to get back to social life.  I had kept up my connection with the British Council, where I had worked before marriage. Sometimes I would get invited to dinner parties that were attended by members of the Royal Family and the upper echelon of Nepalese society.  Then there were less grand gatherings, where there would be a mixture of travellers and both Nepalese and Western poets and writers. Here instead of alcohol, there would be bowls of charas hashish. Sometimes top models would fly from London for a long weekend. At these parties, beautifully made up and in their designer hippy clothes, they looked strangely out of place.

A cannabis store in Nepal. Photo: Author provided

Minoru would tell me that Hollywood film directors and actors would come to the restaurant, but he rarely remembered their names. The German consul baked a hashish cake for my 30th birthday. At that point in time, cannabis was legal and could be bought from the government store in the main bazaar. Good alcohol was only found with foreign organizations until the black-market shop managed to acquire it from foreigners. It is not known how many foreigners living in Kathmandu indulged in cannabis in their homes. It was only because the hippies were more noticeable and lived like locals, that their drug habits were given so much attention.

The early seventies were really the last Hurrah for easy available legal charas and ganja, hashish and marijuana. The year after I left Kathmandu in 1971, I found out that Carole Laise, the American ambassador to Nepal, was very upset that US citizens were smoking and smuggling out the “evil weed.” She was on good terms with King Mahendra, and convinced him to stop the open sale of cannabis. All the signboards offering ganja and charas were taken down. After leaving Nepal, Laise gave an interview to an American publication where she was questioned about drugs in Kathmandu. She made the extraordinary statement that few Americans participated in drugs and it was mainly European hippies because they could travel cheaply overland to get to the source.

Below the temple, surrounded by fields and small traditional houses, a clever Nepali entrepreneur opened ‘The Bakery,’ which sold baked goods and tea to young travellers and locals, particularly those who liked to smoke charus and ganja and drop acid. In an open courtyard, customers lay around whiling away the time watching mists or swirling clouds above the temple. Each full moon crowds would congregate with musical instruments cushions and blankets for a night of partying. While many would indulge in their chosen drug and sing and dance, others would retreat inside themselves. Genise, who was not interested in drugs made a one time visit but did not think it a big deal.

Also read: 1971: The Year India Felt Good About Itself

During this period, Dev Anand, the director, writer and movie star came for a break to Kathmandu. He had been invited for the marriage of Prince Birendra to Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi. He was feeling quite down at that time, due to the bad reception his previous film Prem Pujari had received and he was searching for a good idea for his next film.

A poster for ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’.

One evening in the bar of the Soaltee Hotel he came across Genise and was smitten by the charm of this Canadian woman. She, who was completely unaware of Dev Anand’s fame, did not have the awe that most young Indian or Nepalese women would have toward this idol, and they had an easy rapport. When Dev Anand asked her many questions about her life, she spoke freely about her family in Canada, her present time in Kathmandu and mentioned the scene around the Bakery. Out of curiosity, Dev Anand visited the Bakery.

It was a casual meeting for Genise, but for Dev Anand, the meeting sowed the seeds in him to write the script for what was to become the cult movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Dev Anand on a visit to King Mahendra mentioned that he would like to make a movie in Kathmandu. Not only was the king interested but he also suggested that Anand make a trip to Pokhara, in the mountains and stay at the Fish Tail Lodge, newly opened by his brother Prince Basundhara.  During this time Dev Anand wrote the script, and all was arranged for shooting in Kathmandu.

But Genise was not the only source of enchantment for Dev Anand, it must have been the very soul of Kathmandu itself with the mythic temple on the hill with its all-seeing eyes of Lord Buddha and its venerable spire. The perennial hum of its vibrant spiritual life as the Tibetan monks chanted and clashed cymbals in the monastery. Down below in the village, the simple brick houses with elaborately carved wooden windows and the walk into town past fields of yellow mustard, would have proved irresistible to his sophisticated Bollywood sensibilities.

***

Less than a year later my comfortable Kathmandu life was hit by a personal tsunami. Minoru, who was doing very well with his restaurant with another one on the way, was asked to leave Nepal because of some jealousy and plotting among the elite of Kathmandu. Although King Mahendra and Prince Basundhara were friends who often ate at his restaurant, unfathomably others wanted him out. Being Japanese, he lost face and did leave.  I joined him later in Calcutta, after I had sold off everything.

After a tumultuous year, where we had a difficult time settling, I separated from Minoru and visited North America. Then I had the idea to contact Blanche (Genise’s mother) to see if I could stay. I was welcomed and decided that I would try to emigrate to Canada, as it was a good place to bring up my daughter. Some months later I moved in with friends but I still missed terribly my Kathmandu life.

Also read: The Year When Indian Cricket Came Of Age

One day I saw in the newspaper that there was going to be a Canadian premiere of an Indian film, called Hare Rama, Hare Krishna at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. I sensed it would perk me up and I found a babysitter for Anna and went along.

I was one of the few Westerners at this glittery affair, where the Indian women wore elegant saris and the men suits. Although in India, Dev Anand had a godlike status, at that time in Vancouver few Westerners had similar sentiments about Bollywood films.

Very quickly into the film, I realised that this was the movie filmed in Kathmandu. As soon as I saw the lead actress, who strongly resembled Genise, it was evident to me that Genise had been the muse the night she met Dev Anand in the bar of the Soaltee Hotel. Dev Anand in the movie called her Janice from her Indian name Jasbir. He cleverly changed many of the details to create a dysfunctional family in Montreal. He also portrayed her as a confused young woman who took up with hippies and used drugs and alcohol and who in the end takes her life. Much of the movie took place around the Bakery and I could recognise some of the supporting actors. A few of the hippie extras were respectable local young people who lived in Kathmandu with their families. I found out from one of those picked by Dev Anand for a small part, that the real hippies actually did smoke cannabis for the film, but she and a few teenage friends were given tobacco.

Zeenat Aman (centre) in ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’. Photo: Youtube

Watching the film was emotional for me, as after living in Nepal for almost five years and believing I would be there for the rest of my life, I had experienced a kind of reversed culture shock in Canada. After seeing the movie I told Genise about it, but she had no interest in seeing it.

In 1975 I returned to Kathmandu for King Birendra’s coronation and to do the Everest trek. Back in Kathmandu, as I walked the streets, I was surprised to have kids following me singing the main song Dum Maro Dum, ‘have another toke’. By then Hare Rama, Hare Krishna had been established as a cult movie and any Westerner who did not fit the regular tourist mould had to endure being sung to by the masses of street urchins.

Half a century is a long time and we are living in another time. Those young people have grown up and experienced the roller coaster of life and are probably parents and grandparents. Primarily, we were free-spirited young people, tired of too much consumerism and commercialism in the West, who deeply wanted change. We didn’t need luxuries, just a new way of living more simply. There was another way to live, and the medieval feel of Kathmandu, which gave us the simple life, without the crass capitalism of the west, was refreshing.

Also read: What it Was Like to Be a Young Communist and Trade Unionist in 1971 Kanpur

It is now the 50th anniversary of Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Was it synchronicity that in 1971 beloved Indian director and actor Dev Anand created a film where East and West intermingled, when a travelling band of western free spirits ended up in Kathmandu and changed the valley forever?  There is a great nostalgia for that period now lost in the mists of time.

For Dev Anand that chance meeting in the Soaltee Hotel created a little piece of history hugely significant in the Bollywood film world, and Hare Rama, Hare Krishna remains part of this legendary filmmaker’s heritage. For me, the meeting with Genise Gill, changed my life, as after leaving Nepal and some tumult in my life, I stayed with the Gill family until I could officially emigrate to Canada. Genise and I both live in British Columbia, she in Vancouver and I on a little island. She still has little interest in her moment of fame as a muse. I harbour thoughts of one day sitting down with her to watch Hare Rama Hare Krishna.

The film Hare Rama Hare Krishna was released in 1971, when hippiedom was at its peak.

Kami Kanetsuka is a traveller and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. During the 1960s and ‘70s, she travelled all over South East Asia and lived in Nepal for many years.

Comedian Bharti Singh, Husband Remanded to Judicial Custody Till December 4 in Drugs Case

The NCB arrested Singh on Saturday and her husband early Sunday morning following seizure of ganja (cannabis) from their house in suburban Andheri.

Mumbai: A Mumbai court on Sunday remanded comedian Bharti Singh and husband Harsh Limbachiya, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) following seizure of drugs from their house in Mumbai, to judicial custody till December 4.

The court will hear their bail pleas on Monday.

The NCB arrested Singh on Saturday and her husband early Sunday morning following seizure of ganja (cannabis) from their house in suburban Andheri.

The couple was produced before a magistrates court here Sunday afternoon.

“The court has remanded both the accused to judicial custody till December 4,” NCB prosecutor Atul Sarpande told PTI.

The couple filed bail pleas through advocate Ayaz Khan soon after being remanded to judicial custody. The magistrate’s court would hear the bail pleas on November 23.

The NCB sought Limbachiya’s custody for questioning but did not seek Singh’s custody and told the court that she may be sent to judicial custody.

Khan argued that there is no question of custodial interrogation as the alleged substance recovered is lesser than the ‘small quantity’ as prescribed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Also read: NCB Arrests Film Producer Firoz Nadiadwala’s Wife, Seizes Ganja

The magistrate accepted the arguments and noted that custodial interrogation was not required and that the accused have already been questioned for a considerable time on Saturday.

Singh and Limbachiya have been booked under sections 20(b)(ii)(A) (involves small quantity of drugs) and 8(c) (possession of drugs) and 27 (consumption of drugs) of the NDPS Act.

“Under these sections, the punishment is six months to one year. This is not a case where the accused needs to be kept behind bars. I am surprised that the NCB is taking such an action of arrest in cases where the quantity (seized) is less than the prescribed small quantity. The NCB mandate is larger than this, Khan told PTI.

In their bail pleas, Singh and Limbachiya sought to be released saying they do not have any criminal antecedents and hence there is no question of them absconding.

Asked about the NCBs claim that both Singh and Limbachiya have accepted that they consume drugs, Khan said. Any statement alleged to have been made before the NCB or any of its officials is inadmissible pursuant to a recent judgment passed by the Supreme Court.

Acting on a tip-off, the NCB on Saturday conducted search at Singh’s office and residence as part of its probe into the alleged drug use in the entertainment industry.

Up to 1,000 gram of ganja is considered small quantity, which attracts jail term up to six months and/or fine of Rs 10,000. Possession of commercial quantity – 20 kg or more – can attract up to 20 years in jail. For the quantity in between, the punishment can be as much as 10 years in jail, an official said.

“Singh’s name had cropped up during the interrogation of a drug peddler,” the official said.

She has appeared in a number of comedy and reality shows on TV and also hosted a few such shows.

The NCB has been probing the alleged drug use in Bollywood after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June this year on the basis of WhatsApp chats involving drugs.

The central agency had arrested Rajput’s girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, some employees of the late film star and a few others under various sections of the Act.

Rhea Chakraborty and a few other accused were granted bail by the Bombay high court in October. Showik’s bail plea was rejected by the high court.

Tamil Nadu: Journalist Murdered by Alleged Drug Dealers

Isravel Moses had reported on the distribution and sale of ganja and the encroachment of land for Thamizhan TV.

Chennai: Nine years ago, barely aged 20, Isravel Moses timidly stepped into the office of Thamizhan TV as an area reporter for some villages in Kanchipuram district, including his own village Nallur and Kundrathur, a Chennai suburb. Sahaya Raj, his chief reporter, recalls him as a bright and hardworking person. On the night of November 8, Moses was hacked to death by alleged drug dealers, as a fallout of his reportage on the distribution and sale of ganja and the illegal encroachment of poramboke lands.

“He was definitely one of our brightest reporters,” says Sahaya Raj. “Moses was very keen on stories about local issues, the ‘real issues’ that people of his village and other villages face. We have an internal award for reporters and the year before, he had won it.”

Sahaya Raj says Moses was very enterprising as a reporter. “He was consistent. Over the past year, he had done many stories on the distribution and sale of ganja and encroachment of lands. Even last month, Moses did another follow up of his story on ganja and how the police were not taking action on it.”

Still shaken, Gnanaraj Yesudasan, father of Moses and a reporter himself, says his son was facing threats from ‘anti-social elements’ in the locality for his exposes. “Lots of people used to come looking for him, seeking his help in solving an issue. And more often than not, Moses will try and get the issues solved.”

On that fateful night, Yesudasan recalls that one Manoj had called for his son at around 10:30 pm on the pretext of asking for an address. “He went along with him and soon I heard him scream. When I stepped out, I saw he had been hacked. We rushed him to a hospital, but he was declared dead.” The FIR copy of the incident says the attack was a consequence of “enmity”.

Yesudasan says his son has been facing threats from one Navamani, who he calls a ‘local rowdy’. “A few months ago, I visited his family and warned them about these threats.”

Condemning the incident, Bharathi Thamizhan, joint secretary of the Chennai Press Club, says the murder exposes the vulnerability of journalists in the state. “The chief minister, who is also in charge of the home portfolio, should intervene and sort the issue out,” Thamizhan said.

Meanwhile, the Kanchipuram district police have arrested four persons in connection with the murder. “We have arrested all the four accused within hours of the incident – Navamani, Vignesh, Venkatesan and Manoj. The motive is personal vengeance and a land dispute. We are collecting more evidence,” Kanchipuram district superintendent of police Shanmuga Priya said.

Sahaya Raj, also the state president of the Working Journalists’ Union, says the union and other press bodies in the state have sought an immediate appointment with chief minister E.K. Palaniswamy to put forth three demands, including Rs 25 lakh solatium for Moses’s family and legislating an Act to protect the journalists in the state.

“Considering his family’s situation, we are also demanding that the government should give a government job to a family member. Also, journalists across the state continue to face threats and intimidation for the work they are doing. The government should immediately do something about it,” Raj said.

Yesudasan has just one demand. “No other journalist in the state should suffer the fate of my son. Will the chief minister take action to ensure that?”

War to Go on Till Armenia Sets Timetable to Withdraw From Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan

The conflict threatens to drag in other regional powers as Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey, while Armenia has a defence pact with Russia.

Baku/Yerevan: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev demanded on Sunday that Armenia set a timetable for withdrawing from the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding Azeri territories, and said Azerbaijan would not cease military action until that happened.

In a televised address to the nation, Aliyev said Azeri forces were advancing in a week-long offensive to retake lands that they lost to ethnic Armenians in the 1990s.

“Azerbaijan has one condition, and that is the liberation of its territories,” he said. “Nagorno-Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan. We must return and we shall return.”

“My condition is the following: let them withdraw their troops, and the confrontation will be stopped, but this should not be in words, but in deeds,” he added.

He said the international community had failed for three decades to enforce U.N. resolutions or put pressure on Armenia to return Azeri territories.

The content and tone of Aliyev’s message made clear that Azerbaijan would not entertain calls for an immediate ceasefire, as Russia, the United States and European Union have urged.

Speaking immediately after Aliyev’s speech, Armenian Defence Ministry official Artsrun Hovhannisyan said: “I don’t think that there is any risk for Yerevan (the Armenian capital), but anyway we are in a war.”

The clashes are the worst since the 1990s when some 30,000 people were killed and are spreading beyond the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. They have raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azeri oil and gas to world markets.

Also read: As Decades-Old Conflict Flares, Clashes Kill 55 in Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Armenian Enclave

The conflict threatens to drag in other regional powers as Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey, while Armenia has a defence pact with Russia.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the past week of fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces, including more than 40 civilians.

Earlier on Sunday, Azerbaijan said Armenian forces had fired rockets at its second city of Ganja, killing one civilian and wounding 32, and also launched a missile attack on the Azeri industrial city of Mingachevir. Azerbaijan threatened to retaliate by destroying military targets inside Armenia.

Both Armenia‘s and the breakaway region’s defence ministries said they denied the Azeri claim of the Armenian attack on Mingachevir in Azerbaijan.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said: “The attacks of Armenia targeting the civilians in Ganja…are a new manifestation of Armenia‘s unlawful attitude. We condemn these attacks.”

Armenia denied it had directed fire “of any kind” towards Azerbaijan. The leader of Nagorno-Karabakh said his forces had targeted a military airbase in Ganja but later stopped firing in order to avoid civilian casualties.

Fighting spreads

Until now, the main fighting has been between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, but it now threatens to spill over into a direct war with Armenia itself.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for an immediate ceasefire in a conversation with Armenia‘s foreign minister and said Moscow was ready to help seek a solution to the conflict via the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Azerbaijan, however, says it has lost patience with the OSCE’s failure to resolve the conflict.

Nagorno-Karabakh once again came under Azeri bombardment on Sunday and an official there said the civilian death toll over the past week had risen to 18, including casualties in the enclave’s capital of Stepanakert and nearby Shushi.

Azerbaijan says it has lost 24 civilians, and Armenia two.

Aliyev said on Twitter his forces had captured the town of Jabrail and several villages in what, if confirmed, would be a significant advance on the southern edge of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan dismissed the claim as “yet another fabrication”. Independent verification was not possible.

Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan said his forces would target military units located in the large Azeri cities.

The Case for Legalising and Regulating Cannabis

Even though marijuana is prohibited, we can’t seem to make it go away. But it can be made safer.

On November 7, 2019, the Delhi high court sought the government’s stand on a petition filed by the Great Legalisation Movement India Trust to decriminalise the use of cannabis. The petitioner has challenged the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 which criminalise the use of cannabis as violative of various provisions of the constitution of India.

The main psychoactive compound in marijuana that gives a “euphoric” sensation is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There is evidence to show that THC is related to psychosis. Marijuana also contains a substance called CBD (cannabidiol), which seems to counteract its effect. CBD is a non-psychoactive compound and that means it doesn’t produce the “high/euphoria” associated with THC.

CBD is even being tested as a treatment against psychosis and anxiety. A 2017 King’s College London study found that participants treated with CBD had fewer psychiatric symptoms than those who received a placebo. Dr. Philip McGuire, lead author of the 2017 study, remarked:

“Although it is still unclear exactly how CBD works, it acts in a different way to antipsychotic medication and thus could represent a new class of treatment. Moreover, CBD was not associated with significant side effects. This is also potentially important, as patients may be reluctant to take antipsychotic medication because of concerns about side effects.”

Since CBD doesn’t give you the “high”, growers have gradually decreased the amount of CBD in marijuana over the last few decades, while simultaneously increasing THC levels. Sample testing showed that THC levels have risen from around 4% in the 1990s to nearly 12% in 2014, shifting the ratio of THC to CBD from 1:14 in 1995 to about 1:80 in 2014.

Though it is unclear as to how precise those tests were, recent findings suggest that the more marijuana you consume, and the stronger it is, the higher your risk of developing psychosis. Again, the question of how high the risk of psychosis is for the general population is unclear.

Also read: How Cannabis Jumped from ‘Colonial Science’ to Western Medicine – in Calcutta

A study from Britain found that while marijuana use has risen significantly between 1996 and 2005, the number of schizophrenia cases – a type of psychosis – remained stable. The risk of marijuana-induced psychosis remains the highest for people who already have a high risk of psychosis, to begin with. For them, it seems more likely that marijuana speeds up the development of their condition, rather than causing it.

So the argument goes, if fewer people have access to marijuana, the lower the risk of marijuana-induced psychosis. Agreed, but one could argue, precisely since marijuana is illegal, there is a greater chance people addicted to marijuana will end up with psychosis.

Past experiences with prohibition

Prohibition makes illegal drugs stronger and more potent. This is what happened during the prohibition of alcohol in the US. Although the consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of the Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became “organised”. No measurable gains were made in productivity or reduced absenteeism.

Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine, and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of Prohibition.

Prohibition also led many people to drink more “legitimate” alcohol, such as patent medicines (which contained high concentrations of alcohol), medicinal alcohol, and sacramental alcohol. One New Jersey businessman claimed that there were ten times more places one could get a drink during Prohibition than there had been before. Potent marijuana with high levels of THC has gained traction over the years.

The numbers also show that stringent laws don’t deter people from using marijuana. A study by Alex Stevens, professor of Criminal Justice at Kent’s School for Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research found there is no evidence to suggest that teenage cannabis use is lower in countries with tougher policies.

Recently another study, ‘2018 Cannabis Price Index’ conducted by ABCD revealed Delhi to be the third-highest consumer of cannabis in the world, only behind New York and Karachi. Mumbai also featured at sixth position on that list. For perspective, pot – legal in Amsterdam  – ranks at a lowly 56th place on the index. We can’t make marijuana go away, but it can be made safer.

An employee tends to a medical cannabis plants at Pharmocann, an Israeli medical cannabis company in northern Israel January 24, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen/File Photo

If marijuana were legal, there would be more options for consumers, and regulators could, for example, insist on a high level of CBD. Just like most people don’t drink an after-work bottle of vodka, many people might gladly consume the after-work beer version of marijuana.

For instance, in most states that have regulated marijuana in the US, only cannabis extract containing no more than 0.5% THC and no less than 10% CBD, by weight is allowed. States like Kentucky have completely banned THC from their permitted extracts. Legalising marijuana could also open the gates to a ton of new research. In 2018, the FDA approved a drug comprised of an active ingredient derived from marijuana to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy. Research is difficult when the drug in itself is illegal.

Gateway drug hypotheses

Another argument suggests that marijuana is a ‘gateway drug‘. This hypothesis states that there is a causal sequence through classes of drugs, whereby the use of “less harmful” substances is a risk factor for using “harder drugs”. There are two proposed reasons for this:

  1. Experimentation: Trying a drug like marijuana increases the taste (and perceived pleasure) for other drugs, leading to further experimentation.
  2. Social groups: When a person using marijuana associates with other people who use marijuana, then it is likely they will become exposed to other drugs and substances too. This means there’s an increased opportunity and access to “heavier” substances.

Research shows that 45% of lifelong marijuana users have taken some other illegal drugs at some point. It can be argued that legalising marijuana could reinforce this trend as if more young people try legal marijuana, they might end up trying harder drugs.

But, the real gateway to drugs come in much earlier. A study showed that tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, opening the door to use of illicit drugs. The likelihood of initiating the use of tobacco or other licit drugs before using illicit drugs is much greater than the opposite process. A report suggests that only 2% of those using both tobacco and cannabis reported having used cannabis before tobacco.

Notwithstanding the same, the issue of cannabis being a gateway drug is much more complex, as multiple confounding factors suggest that a person’s drug usage trajectory might not be linked to previous exposure to cannabis. Instead, subsequent drug choice might be due to the independent characteristics that led the individual to be at risk for using illicit drugs in the first place.

Studies show that certain conditions make people especially vulnerable to drugs and addiction. A troubled childhood, trauma, low social status, depression, loneliness, and even genetics could be factors. To escape these issues, people turn to drugs. Only, drugs don’t solve any of the problems and instead, becomes a new problem. The underlying causes have to be addressed and punishing addicts is not helpful.

Portugal has shown us the lead in tackling this issue. Portugal had one of the worst drug epidemics in the world. This prompted the government to take a novel step. In 2001, it decriminalised all drugs (including heroin). Possession and use of drugs were treated as health issues and not crimes. Anyone caught with less than a ten-day supply of any drug — including heroin — received mandatory medical treatment. With no judge, no courtroom and no jail, the number of drug addicts, the usage of hard drugs and diseases due to overdoes decreased.

A bud of cannabis. Photo: Reuters

Also read: The Juul Comes to School – But Also to the Aid of Adult Smokers in India

On December 11, 2018, Norman Lamb, a former liberal democrat MP moved a bill to legalise possession and consumption of cannabis in England. He raised four major points:

“I want to make four key points. First, nowhere across the world has prohibition worked—cannabis is available everywhere. Secondly, people have no idea what they are buying. We know that leaving supply in the hands of criminals puts teenagers in particular at risk. They are most susceptible to suffering mental health consequences, including psychosis, from regular use of potent strains available on the street.

The widespread use of those dangerous strains is the result of our failure to regulate. A regulated market would allow the Government to control the safety and potency of cannabis sold by legal vendors. Through a misplaced desire to be “tough on drugs”, we leave teenagers vulnerable to exploitation from sellers who have no interest at all in their welfare. Through inaction, Government and Parliament are culpable. If something is potentially dangerous to children and young people, we must control it and regulate it, not leave it freely available from those keen to make a fast buck.

Thirdly, we know that the illegal market for drugs generates extreme violence in many communities, and particularly the most disadvantaged. If a supplier faces competition, they do not resort to the courts to protect their market; they use extreme violence. Thousands of people have lost their lives as a result of illegal trade in drugs in countries such as Mexico, but on the streets of our poorest communities, violence is meted out regularly. Young vulnerable teenagers get caught up in this violent trade and cannot escape. It does not have to be like this.

Fourthly, we still criminalise thousands of people every year, taking up precious police time that could be used to fight serious crime. Careers are blighted for using a substance that no doubt many Members on the Government Benches have used at some stage of their lives. Meanwhile, the most harmful drug of all is consumed in large quantities right here in this building.

Alcohol leads to violence on our streets and behind closed doors in people’s homes. It destroys families up and down our country, yet we tax it, and the Exchequer benefits enormously from it. Is there not dreadful hypocrisy in the fact that we allow our drug of choice while criminalising people who use another, less dangerous drug, many for the relief of pain?”

In response to the above, former Conservative MP Steve Double responded stating:

“My concern is that, by liberalising cannabis use, we would send precisely the wrong message to our young people. We would be giving them the message that cannabis is safe and okay to use. We need to make very clear that cannabis is a dangerous drug and that there is no safe consumption of cannabis in an uncontrolled, unregulated way. We are clearly in the midst of a war on drugs, but we will not win the war by raising the white flag, giving up and surrendering. No war has ever been won by surrendering”

In jurisprudence, the theory of expressive law sees the policy as a device for signalling a moral position or social norm, which may influence behaviour either directly by inducing individuals to internalise that norm and effecting a change in preferences, or, indirectly, by highlighting a particular social equilibrium and influence equilibrium selection.

Also read: Scrutinizing the Future of UK’s Nascent Cannabis Industry

The problem though is Prohibition as expressive law may strengthen adherence to the non-consumption social norm among the ‘establishment’ group, while simultaneously strengthening the dissident identity of the counter-culture group who are at highest risk starting cannabis use. Around 3 million people die every year due to alcohol abuse each year, while smoking kills more than 8 million people. Though legal,  alcohol and tobacco are still portrayed as hazardous substances.

Governance would aid curbing the upsurge in drug abuse. Regulation allows cannabis buyers to moderate their intake. As seen in the case of the US, a patient roster, a list of licensed vendors, substance control (CBD percentage, etc) could be maintained to prevent abuse. Legality creates incentives that drug dealers can’t exploit. Contrary to Steve Double’s view, legalising marijuana does not mean endorsing it. It means taking responsibility for the risks it possesses.

R. Vigneshwar is an advocate practising at the Madras high court.

Indian Science Institute Announces Research on Medical Use of Cannabis

Clinical trials will reportedly be carried out at Tata Memorial Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and a Raipur-based hospital.

New Delhi: Indian government scientists are looking into ways to tap into medical uses of cannabis to help in management of cancer, epilepsy and sickle cell anemia.

The Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine’s (IIIM) research on this is currently at a nascent stage. The IIM is part of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The Indian Council for Medical Research and the Department of Biotechnolgy are also involved in the research.

Clinical trials will reportedly be carried out at Tata Memorial Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and a Raipur-based hospital.

Rajendra Badwe, director at Tata Memorial Centre said that cannabis could be called a “natural product” and not a “drug.”

Two significant chemical components which can be derived from the Cannabis sativa plant is cannabidiol and the other is tetrahydrocannabinol. The latter is the primary psychoactive component in marijuana.

The new compound, which the Indian scientists are working on, will contain both of these components.

Also Read: How Cannabis Jumped from ‘Colonial Science’ to Western Medicine – in Calcutta

“There is a lot of misconception about cannabis, owing mainly to its abuse because of its psychotropic component, tetrahydrocannabinol. But the two compounds are also very effective for pain relief,” said Dr Ram Vishwakarma, director, IIIM, to Hindustan Times. He says that for “effective pain relief”, both components are needed.

During the early stage of research, animal trials have been conducted. The researchers have written to the Drug Controller General of India for necessary permissions.

IIIM is also looking to ease out the tight regulations in India preventing cannabis farming. For this research, IIIM has taken special permission from the state of Jammu and Kashmir to farm limited amounts of cannabis.

Cannabis (along with coca and opium poppy) is prohibited in India for purposes other than medical and scientific under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Specifically, cultivation, production, possession, usage, transportation are prohibited.

“There is a very thin line between use, misuse and abuse of a substance and it is our responsibility to draw that line,” said Jitendra Singh, minister of state for Prime Minister’s office, at a recent press conference in Delhi.

In June, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex, the first drug which has an active ingredient derived from marijuana. It can treat rare and severe forms of epilepsy.