Marijuana to be legalised for medicinal purposes
KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 24 : The government is mulling over the formulation of a law legalizing the commercial cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. In this connection, the Home Ministry has recently sent the Marijuana and Marijuana related Substances (Regulation) Bill, 2022 to the Council of Ministers for endorsing it in principle.
According to Under-Secretary of the Ministry, Gokarna Prasad Upadhyay, the bill has provisions suggesting the possible ways of cultivation, collection, distribution and export of marijuana for medicinal purposes. “The bill will soon be authenticated in the federal parliament, thus nullifying the existing Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act 1976 that bans marijuana calling it a ‘hallucinating drug,’ he says.
The home administration reform work plan 2078 formulated some time back by the Ministry talks about preparing work procedures related to the use of cannabis for treating diseases. “After the bill takes the form of law, such procedures will be be prepared on its backing,” informs Upadhyay.
Academic institutions like the Kathmandu University are seeking for the permission of the government to carry out research on marijuana. In the same vein, many organisations/firms demand the concerned authorities allow them to harvest the very plant.
