Delhi HC to examine plea to legalise cannabis use

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court has agreed to examine a plea seeking to legalise use of cannabis, a banned drug that currently attracts criminal prosecution under the NDPS Act.
A bench of justices G S Sistani and Jyoti Singh on Thursday sought details on the current position in law on the plea that seeks to decriminalise cannabis use, arguing that it has wrongly been clubbed with other chemical drugs under the stringent Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), and such a move was arbitrary, unscientific and unreasonable.
While posting the plea for hearing later this month, the bench expressed its concern over the rising drug abuse and indicated that it will hear all the stakeholders before taking a call in the matter. The court has not yet issued notice in the petition, which was argued by senior advocate Arvind Datar and advocate J Sai Deepak on behalf of the petitioner organisation, Great Legislation India Movement Trust.
Contending that the Centre erred in banning cannabis when it enacted the NDPS Act in 1985, the plea claimed that had there been no prohibition on cultivation of industrial cannabis, the farmers could have immensely benefited from it. Lamenting on the lack of debate around the issue, the plea said even in 1985, the government banned the drug without taking into account the history of the use of cannabis in the country and its benefits.
Urging the court to intervene, the petitioner highlighted that “industrial hemp (cannabis) is an agricultural commodity that is cultivated for the production of wide-range of products, including fiberboards and furniture, foods and beverages, cosmetics and personal-care products.”