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Rostrum’s Law Review | ISSN: 2321-3787

Decriminalization of Cannabis in India

ABSTRACT

We live in a country where government owned shops in holy cities like Varanasi sell cannabis in the form of bhang. This essay seeks to cover various dimensions of this topic from the medicinal and religious use of cannabis in Ancient India to its widespread use under the British raj and present situation under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act which forced drug dealers to switch from selling ganja to selling smack and other hard drugs. It further seeks to give an elaborate perspective by taking into consideration views of Indian Government officials from Narcotics Control Bureau and AIIMS and Government Reports from various other countries including the Indian Hemp Drugs Commision Report.

The authors have focussed on the scientific aspect and chemical theory of Cannabis taken from various medical journals which shows that THC has mild to moderate analgesic effects and its use is much less dangerous than tobacco, prescription drugs, and alcohol in social harms, physical harm, and addiction. The authors have also focussed on evidence and data collected by various governmental and non-governmental organisations indicating positive effects of decriminalisation of cannabis.

Further the essay suggests decriminalization of cultivation, possession, trade and consumption of drugs made from Cannabis Plant in small quantities using the Portuguesemodel which comprises of necessary preventive and educational activities where drug users identified by law enforcement agencies will be referred to the Drug Addiction Review Judge. It promotes the fundamental notion of “fighting the disease, not the patients”

Keywords: Decriminalization, cannabis, bhang, scientific, criminal, hemp, commission, medical.

INTRODUCTION

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.”[1]

17 years ago, All India Institute for Medical Sciences, Delhi (AIIMS), conducted a national workshop on “Cannabis-Health Damage and Legislative Options” in which medical professionals concluded that “cannabis does not have adverse health effects, it gave recommendations to the Home Ministry to reconsider existing laws for drugs made from the female Cannabis Sativa plant i.e. ganja, charas and bhang”.[2] At the same time, A.K. Srivastava, Joint Director, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said: “we have no objection to making changes in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), he further added that cannabis grows wild and burning it down has been a futile exercise, you burn it and it grows back in a year. [3]

These aforesaid mentioned reactions were recorded on the 10th Anniversary of the NDPS Act which was a poor law that clubbed cannabis, hashish and bhang with hard drugs like smack, heroin and cocaine and banned them all. Most drug dealers switched from selling ganja to selling smack and other hard drugs. This was so because while the risk was the same, the profits from selling heroin were several times higher.[4] The NDPS Act did more bad than good.

The sad part was not only we criminalized use of all drugs but we also failed to do this systemically or by taking medical opinion into consideration, in fact the British in the 1890’s did a better job the us when they set up the Indian hemp Commision.

BACKGROUND

Since 1961, the US has been campaigning for a global law against all drugs, both hard and soft. India objected to this campaign and the draft of single convention which included the seeds and leaves in the definition of cannabis,[5]  due to use of cannabis leaves in making bhang. It was excluded later. Hence, the traditional use of bhang in India could continue.[6]

In most of the countries consumption of any product made out of cannabis plant is illegal, but Indian law surprisingly allows use of cannabis leaves in preparation of bhang, in fact the government owned and licensed shops sell bhang throughout the country.

Large tracts of cannabis grow unchecked in the wild in many states such as West Bengal, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.[7] Moreover, Hashish has been used for medicinal and religious purposes for thousands of years[8] and was sold in government shops during the times of the British Raj and in independent India until the 1980’s.[9] It is still being sold today.

HISTORICAL / MEDICAL

The use of bhang between the fifth and twelfth century is frequently mentioned in dictionaries, and the names used would seem to show that its use as an intoxicant was then known. In the Rajanighantu of Narahari Paandita, A.D. 1300, the effects of hemp on man are described as excitant, heating, astringent: it destroys phlegm, expels flatulence, induces costiveness, sharpens the memory, and excite appetite. In the Carngadharasamhita, a medical work, the date of which is unknown, but which must have been compiled during the Muhammadan period of Indian history, bhang is specially mentioned as an excitant.[10]

In 19th Century clinical trials carried out by physicians on Indian patients at that time showed it to be a” useful anodyne, hypnotic and antispasmodic. According to the Indian Hemp Drug Commission, bhang was considered as a refreshing beverage corresponding to beer in England and moderate indulgence in it was attended with less injurious consequences than similar consumption of alcohol in Europe.[11]

During the period that followed the report of these early observers, cannabis was used for its analgesic and hypnotic effects in such affections as asthma, neuralgia, tinnitus, dysmenorrhoea, muscular and joint pains, etc. It was also used to relieve the lightning pains of tubes, fornication, numbness, paraesthesia, convulsions, etc.[12]

Bhang and ganja are prescribed extensively by Hakims and Vaidyas in bowel complaints and are recommended as appetizers, as nervous stimulants and as a source of great staying-power under conditions of severe exertion or fatigue. [13] Several recognized medical capabilities of cannabis leaves are:

o   Pulverized dried leaves are used as snuff “for clearing the brain”.

o   The juice extracted from the leaves is applied to the head to remove dandruff and vermin.

o   Dropped into the ear it is said to allay pain.

o   It is also believed to destroy worms.

o   It checks the discharge from the intestines in diarrhoeal conditions and also the urethral discharge in gonorrhoea.

Cannabis preparations are popularly used as household remedies in the treatment of many minor ailments. A mild beverage made from bhang leaves is believed to sharpen the appetite and help the digestion. Religious mendicants who roam throughout India often carry bhang with them and use it for all sorts of gastrointestinal and rheumatic troubles from which they frequently suffer on account of exposure to inclement weather. [14]

 RELIGIOUS

Reference to cannabis drugs is found in the classical literature as well as in old medical works of many countries in the world. In Indian literature the earliest reference to the word “bhang” occurs in the Atharva Veda, which, according to western scholars, dates as far back as 2000 to 1400 B.C. Whether the term was used at that time to mean only a particular species of a sacred grass, or the true cannabis plant, is an open question.[15]

The cannabis plant is regarded by the Hindus as holy, and the origin of this conception can be traced to the Vedic period. In the Atharva Veda, the plant is described as a sacred grass, and the guardian angel of mankind is supposed to reside in its leaves. In Bengal, for instance, the custom still persists among certain classes of offering a beverage prepared from the leaves of the cannabis plant to the various family members and to guests present on the last day of Durga Puja (Vijaya Dasmi) which is the biggest Hindu festival in that state.[16]

According to the Indian Hemp Commision, at the Shivratri festival, and on almost all occasions before it, not only that ganja is offered to the god but is also consumed by all classes of the worshippers and these customs are so intimately connected with their worship that they may be considered to form in some sense an integral part of it and there was abundant evidence before the Commission. [17]

SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION CHEMICAL THEORY/ EFFECTS

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of the cannabis plant which has mild to moderate analgesic effects.[18] According to a 2006 UK Government report, using cannabis is much less dangerous than tobacco, prescription drugs, and alcohol in social harms, physical harm, and addiction.[19]  No evidence exists that anyone has ever died of a cannabis overdose.[20] The ratio of cannabis material required to produce a fatal overdose to the amount required to saturate cannabinoid receptors and cause intoxication is approximately 40,000:1[21] whereas for alcohol it is between 4:1 and 10:1.[22]

“There are no deaths from cannabis use. Anywhere. You can’t find one,” said Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School. Believe it: In 10,000 years of known use of cannabis, there’s never been a single death attributed to marijuana.[23]

3.1. EFFECTS

According to the Indian Hemp Commission Cannabis doesn’t cause any serious mental or physicals effects:

Effects Opinion on Effects
Physical The moderate use of hemp drugs appears to cause no physical injury and doesn’t cause irreversible health or social damage even if used on a long-term basis. [24]
Mental The moderate use of hemp drugs produces no injurious effects on the mind.[25]

The commission also concluded that:

  1. Total prohibition of the cultivation of the hemp plant for narcotics, and of the manufacture, sale, or use of the drugs derived from it, is neither necessary nor expedient in consideration of their ascertained effects, of the prevalence of the habit of using them, of the social and religious feeling on the subject, and of the possibility of its driving the consumers to have recourse to other stimulants or narcotics which may be more deleterious (Chapter XIV, paragraphs 553 to 585).
  1. Bhang is the Joy-giver, the Sky-filler, the Heavenly- Guide, the Poor Man’s Heaven, the Soother of Grief. No god or man is as good as the religious drinker of bhang. The supporting power of bhang has brought many a Hindu family safe through the miseries of famine. To forbid or even seriously restrict the use of so gracious an herb as the hemp would cause widespread suffering and annoyance and to large bands of worshipped ascetics, deep-seated anger. It would rob the people of a solace on discomfort, of a cure in sickness, of a guardian whose gracious protection saves them from the attacks of evil influences.”

These conclusions not only reiterate that cannabis has no malicious effect on physical and mental health but also point out that how ironic the current situation is that the British Government didn’t attempt any prohibition on the cannabis plant so as not to hurt the sentiments of the Indian people; The plant was later prohibited much later, by our own Indian Government.

The Lancet, a respected medical journal, in its November ’95 issue commented in an editorial that “smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health yet this widely-used substance is illegal just about everywhere.” It further went on stating that the new evidence is in fact nothing new and merely confirms the conclusions drawn by the Royal Hemp Commission in 1895 that cannabis products had benign effects and that they caused no irreversible health or social damage even if used on a long-term basis. Reversible intoxication also occurs with cannabis which temporarily affects motor functions. But this also happens with alcohol intake.[26] This opinion was also quoted in a 1997 AIIMS publication[27]

Also, talking about the addiction from marijuana Dr R C Jiloha, director and head of psychiatry at G B Pant Hospital and in-charge of de-addiction says: “Very few patients come to us for marijuana de-addiction. The drug is less addictive compared to heroine, crack cocaine or even alcohol. It doesn’t cause body ache, abdominal pain and other physical symptoms.[28]

SOFT DRUG

The NDPS Act itself recognizes cannabis as a soft drug. It recommends a lighter sentence for possession of both ganja and hashish compared to the jail term prescribed for violations involving opiate drugs, like heroin and its impure form-brown sugar. While possession of five grams of charas would invite a year’s sentence and 500 grams of ganja would put you in jail for six months, a heroin or morphine rap could mean sentences up to 15 years and in severe cases of trafficking, even the death penalty.[29]

Various findings been made by organisations and individuals have time and again proved that cannabis is a soft drug, one such finding was made by Devendra Mohan (Head, Department of Psychiatry) at AIIMS who concluded that:

“When compared to alcohol I would say that cannabis is less harmful. It is nonaddictive and less anti-social. With alcohol, crisis behaviour probability is higher and well documented in accidents, domestic violence and sexual crimes. However, you don’t associate such behaviour with cannabis abuse

We are not saying that you should advertise Indian cannabis as the best in the world on STAR TV. What we are saying is that the Government need not take the view it has taken on a drug which is relatively less harmful and which has been consumed in this country for centuries.”[30]

The following scientific graphs further support such conclusions including the ones made by the Indian Hemp Commission and various other medical and legislative authorities that cannabis has moderate mental and physical effects, has very low dependence probability, and definitely is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol which still remain the most abused psychoactive drugs in the world.

GRAPH 1

[31]

GRAPH 2

[32]

These graphs show that how marijuana ranks only moderate/low in dependence potential, also it is almost negligible in lethal dose, which ironically in turn is much less than caffeine, alcohol and various other widely used psychoactive drugs and is lesser than alcohol and tobacco in physical harm.

PROPOSED POLICY CHANGE

Taking into perspective the legislative, religious, social and spiritual history of cannabis, along with its widespread use in the country, there is a need to change the current policy i.e. to decriminalize the use cannabis in India.

Decriminalisation is often mistakenly understood to mean complete removal or abolition of possession offences, or confused with ‘legalisation’ (legal regulation of drug production and availability).  Under decriminalisation regimes, possession and use of small amounts of drugs are still unlawful but not criminal offences.[33]

While many people within the government fear about the negative impact of such a policy change, the evidence and data collected by various governmental and non-governmental organisations indicates otherwise and that any such fear is based in prejudice. Countries like Portugal and Spain have successfully decriminalised possession of small amounts of some drugs[34].The following figure and table shows why and how this policy should be implemented. It also provides some justifications to such a policy.

FIGURE 1

Non-criminal sanctions in different jurisdictions include: fines, community service orders, warnings, mandatory treatment or education sessions, driver’s or professional  licence suspensions, travel bans, property confiscation,  associational bans, mandatory reporting, mandatory drug testing, termination of public benefits, administrative arrest, or no penalty at all community-based treatment, education, aftercare, rehabilitation and social integration represent a more effective and proportionate alternative to conviction and punishment, including detention.[35]

JUSTIFICATIONS TO THE PROSPOSED POLICY

Since policy makers might argue that decriminalization might have negative effect on the society there are few justifications as to the positive effects of decriminalization of cannabis.

  •  Usage: The Netherlands’ drug policy is one of the most nonpunitive in Europe. For more than twenty years, Dutch citizens over age eighteen have been permitted to buy and use cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in government-regulated coffee shops. This policy has not resulted in dramatically escalating marijuana use. For most age groups, rates of marijuana use in the Netherlands are similar to those in the United States. However, for young adolescents, rates of marijuana use are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States. The Dutch government occasionally revises existing marijuana policy, but it remains committed to decriminalization[36].Therefore decriminalization does not necessarily lead to increased use.[37]
  •   Incarceration costs: These costs are incurred to keep a person confined in prison. A US report says that costs for cannabis enforcement are the highest at $328 per user while for alcohol it is $153[38]. In 1997 Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly in its report emphasized that drug policies relying heavily on penal sanctions and incarceration are costly and fail to address the social and public health aspects of substance abuse. Criminal laws should be administered in concert with treatment and other social and public health initiatives. They also mentioned that such a policy change will drastically reduce drug related incarceration costs.[39]
  •   Consumption and Cost: Decriminalization does not result necessarily lead to lower prices and higher consumption rates.[40] It also saves a tremendous amount in enforcement costs. California saved an estimated $857 million in 2006 alone.[41] Also, most cannabis users never use any other illicit drug[42].

As regards measures against trafficking in drugs and precursors, under the current policy India will use satellite imagery to detect and eradicate illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis plant. The Government of India is pursuing a sustained effort to reduce the level of illicit cultivation of cannabis plant in the country. In 2010, the estimated area under illicit cultivation was 552 ha, following the eradication of 681 ha of illicitly cultivated cannabis plant during the course of that year. A further 1,114 ha were eradicated in 2011.

Cannabis is the most abused drug in India, followed by opium. No matter how much money or technology the government might put in, it seems highly illogical and extremely costly to eradicate a naturally growing plant which despite a legal ban has widespread use in the country[43] and has been used for past thousands of years and now has become a part of the culture and everyday lives.

Most people don’t like calling bhang an intoxicant but a prasad (holy offering) of Lord Shiva.”Don’t call it nasha (intoxicant). It is the prasad of Lord Shiva,” said Radhey Lal, in his late 60s, cradling a glass of bhang’s thandai in his hand. “We do not drink alcohol. All we take is bhang, which we consider as prasad,” said Krishna, who is in his early 30s. There are around 785 government-licensed bhang shops in the state of Rajasthan alone which sell around 400 quintals of bhang in a year.[44] One can only imagine the widespread reach cannabis has in this country.

This policy option will decriminalize drug cultivation, possession, trade and consumption of drugs made from Cannabis Plant in small quantities (the word small quantities means quantity meant for personal use as mentioned under the NDPS Act, which has classified offences into two types i.e. small quantities and large quantities) therefore focusing on improvement of those who are consuming it rather than punishing them, as the latter as neither helped in reduction in the usage nor has had any effect on the society at large.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Clearly there is a gap between the legislators and the public. Where on the one hand the government plans to use satellite imagery to eradicate illicit cultivation of cannabis plant and on the other hand cannabis is the most abused drug in India, proven by the fact that among those treated for drug problems in India in 2010, 22 per cent abused cannabis.[45]

In a decriminalized framework, the law continues to prohibit drug usage, but it’s completely removed from the criminal sphere, so that if one violates that prohibition or do the activity that the law says one cannot do they’re no longer committing a crime. One cannot be turned into a criminal by the state. Instead, it’s deemed to be an administrative offense only, and they’re put into an administrative proceeding rather than a criminal proceeding.

Therefore the proposed policy change is recommended and should be implemented by making major modifications in the NDPS Act as well as state drug laws. Section 8, Section 10 and Section 20 of the Act which talks about punishment for contravention in relation to cannabis plant and cannabis need a major amendment. Use of community punishments rather than imprisonment for most drug dependent offenders should be the object of the modified law.[46] The new strategy and legislation should be based on the fundamental notion of “fighting the disease, not the patients”.

Maximising the use and cost effectiveness of community sentences is likely to be more beneficial than imprisoning problem drug-using offenders.[47] The strategy and actions could be based on Portuguese model which comprises of necessary preventive and educational activities and steps which should be taken in order to improve treatment programs. [48] Under the new decriminalization law, drug users identified by law enforcement agencies are referred to the Drug Addiction Review Judge(DARJ), equivalent to Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) who will asses users and decide the most appropriate sanction and referral to educational or treatment programs.

If a person fails to attend the proceedings under DARJ, an administrative sanction may be applied such as a fine, revocation of a driving license, community service, [49] travel bans, property confiscation and rehabilitation.[50]According to UK Drug Commision, imprisonment is more likely to entrench some problems for the offender and their family, rather than solve them.[51]

There must be a reasonable ground in creating a law, and a proportionate ability to enforce it. One without the other renders the law untenable as is the case in India. Legislating for the sake of legislating or to impose a viewpoint on the people is both tedious and expensive. Therefore, decriminalizing the use of small quantities of products made from Cannabis Plant is recommended and hence submitted.

 References

[1] Francis Young, DEA Administrative Law Judge

[2] Pillai A. & Menezes S. (Aug 28, 1996) Case for Cannabis: A national workshop recommends legalisation of soft drugs. Outlook Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?202017

[3] Ibid 2

[4] The Joint Campaign, Should we not legalize recreational use of Cannabis? Times of India, TNN Retrieved from:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/the-joint-campaign-should-we-not-legalize-recreational-use-of-cannabis/eventcoverage/17167279.cms; Mehrotra P.K. (Sept 7, 2013) Now that America is changing its mind on cannabis its time for India to do the same. Daily Mail. Retrieved from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/article-2415127/Now-America-changing-mind-cannabis-time-India-same.html

[5] Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (As amended by the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961), 18 UST 1407, United Nations, UNODC Retrieved from: www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf‎

[6] Jelsma M. (24-25 January 2011) The Development of international drug control: Lessons learned and strategic challenges for the future. Global Commision on Drug Policies, Geneva Retrieved from: www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/…/Global_Com_Martin_Jelsma.pdf‎

[7] Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (2011) Annual Report, 2011. Retrieved from: www.narcoticsindia.nic.in/ANNUAL%20REPORT%202011.pdf‎; Chalabi M. (Aug 22, 2013) Price of marijuana worldwide. The Guardian Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/interactive/2013/aug/02/marijuana-world-retail-wholesale-price-interactive-map?commentpage=1

[8] If Drugs Were Legal, Scarlett Might Be Alive. The Times of India, TNN (March 14, 2008.) Retrieved from: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/jug-suraiya/second-opinion/If-drugs-were-legal-Scarlett-might-be-alive/articleshow/2863581.cms

[9] Report of the Indian hemp Drugs Commission, Shimla, India, Government Central Printing House, 1894, 7 vols. Chapter XIV. The policy of hemp drug administration. (1893–94)  Retrieved from: www.druglibrary.eu/library/reports/indianhemp.pdf

[10] Report of the Indian hemp Drugs Commission, Shimla, India, Government Central Printing House, 1894, 7 volumes, (1893–94) Retrieved from: www.druglibrary.eu/library/reports/indianhemp.pdf

[11] Chopra I. C., Chopra R. N. () The Use of the Cannabis Drugs in India, UNODC. Retrieved from:  https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1957-01-01_1_page003.html#

[12] Ibid 10

[13] Ibid 11

[14] Ibid 12

[15] Ibid 13

[16] Report of the Indian hemp Drugs Commission, Shimla, India, Government Central Printing House, 1894, 7 vols. Chapter ix para 433 (1893–94) Retrieved from: www.druglibrary.eu/library/reports/indianhemp.pdf

[17] Ibid 15

[18] Elphick, M. R. & Egertova, M. (2001) The neurobiology and evolution of cannabinoid signalling. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 356 (1407) p. 381–408 Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088434/

[19] Drug classification: making a hash of it?  Fifth Report of Session, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, UK government report. HC 1031 (July 18, 2006) Retrieved from: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/science-and-technology-committee/publications/

[20] Grinspoon L. (1971) Marihuana Reconsidered, Harvard University Press, 1971. p. 53 – 54; Grinspoon, L. (Sept 23, 2012), Grinspoon: Marijuana is here to stay, The Metro West Daily News. Retrieved from: https://www.metrowestdailynes.com/opinion/x422896402/Grinspoon-Marijuana-Is-Here-to-Stay; Smith D. (Aug 08, 2012) Medical marijuana: 10 health benefits that legitimize legalization, IBTIMES. Retrieved from:  https://www.ibtimes.com/%E2%80%98medical%E2%80%99-marijuana-10-health-benefits-legitimize-legalization-742456; Mortality data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) (2003); Geller T., Loftis L., Brink D. (2004) Cerebellar Infarction in Adolescent Males Associated with Acute marijuana use.

[21] Mikuriya, T.H. (1969) Historical Aspects of Cannabis Sativa in Western Medicine, New Physician, p. 905.

[22] Grinspoon L. (1971) Marihuana Reconsidered, Harvard University Press, 1971. p. 53 – 54

[23] Smith D. (Aug 08, 2012) Medical marijuana: 10 health benefits that legitimize legalization, IBTIMES. Retrieved from:  https://www.ibtimes.com/%E2%80%98medical%E2%80%99-marijuana-10-health-benefits-legitimize-legalization-742456

[24]Supra 2; Report of the Indian hemp Drugs Commission, Shimla, India, Government Central Printing House, 1894, 7 vols. Chapter xiii. Effects—Moral: General summary of conclusions. p. 264, para. 552 (1893–94) Retrieved from: www.druglibrary.eu/library/reports/indianhemp.pdf

[25] Report of the Indian hemp Drugs Commission, Shimla, India, Government Central Printing House, 1894, 7 vols. Chapter xiii. Effects—Moral: General summary of conclusions. p. 264, para. 552 (1893–94) Retrieved from: www.druglibrary.eu/library/reports/indianhemp.pdf

[26] Pillai A. & Menezes S. (Aug 28, 1996) Case for Cannabis: A national workshop recommends legalisation of soft drugs. Outlook Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?202017

[27] Durgesh J.N.  (Nov 10, 2012) Hope for dope: Alcoholics face a greater risk than marijuana users, doctors insist, Times of India, TNN.  Retrieved from: https://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-10/india/35033863_1_recreational-marijuana-ban-cannabis-addiction

[28] Ibid 26

[29] Supra 2

[30] Supra 2

[31] Gable R.S. (2006) The Toxicity of Recreational Drugs, American Scientist, The Scientific Research Society, American Scientist

[32] Drug classification: making a hash of it?  Fifth Report of Session, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, UK government report. HC 1031 (July 18, 2006) Retrieved from: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/science-and-technology-committee/publications/; Nutt D., Leslie A.K., Saulsbury W., Blakemore C. (March 24, 2007) Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse, The Lancet 2007

[33] Rolles S (2009) After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation. Bristol: Transform Drug Policy Foundation.

[34] Stephen R. (2009), After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation, Transform Drug Policy Foundation, ISBN:  978-0-9556428-1-4, p. 214

[35] UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (2012) UNODC and the protection and promotion of human rights. Vienna: UNODC, https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/UNODC_HR_position_paper.pdf

[36] Fromberg, E. (1994) The Case of the Netherlands: Contradictions and Values in Questioning Prohibition, 1994 International Report on Drugs, Brussels, International Antiprohibitionist League. p. 113-124.; Sandwijk, J.P., et al. (1995) Licit and Illicit Drug Use in Amsterdam II, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam. Retrieved from:  www.cedro-uva.org/lib/sandwijk.prvasd94.13.pdf‎; Gunning, K.F. (1993) Crime Rate and Drug Use in Holland. Rotterdam, Dutch National Committee on Drug Prevention.

[37] World Drug Report (2012), UNODC, United Nations publication, Sales No. E.12.XI.1. Retrieved from: https https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2012.html; Maccoun R. & Reuter R. (February 2001) Evaluating alternative cannabis regimes, British Journal of Psychiatry, October 2013, Issue 4, Volume 203 Retrieved from: https://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/178/2/123.full; Single E. The impact of marijuana decriminalisation: An update, Journal of Public Health Policy, 1989; 10: 456-66. Retrieved from:  https://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/178/2/123.full.

[38] Thomas G. & Davis C (2009), Cannabis, Issue of Visions Journal, 5 (4), p. 1 Retrieved from: www.heretohelp.bc.ca/visions/cannabis-vol5/cannabis-tobacco-and-alcohol-use-in-canada

[39] Drug Policy in Connecticut and Strategy Options (1997), Report to the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, Connecticut Law Review Commission. Retrieved from: https://www.cga.ct.gov/lrc/drugpolicy/DrugPolicyRpt1.htm

[40] Gable, R. S. (2006). Acute toxicity of drugs versus regulatory status., J. M. Fish (Ed.), Drugs and Society: U.S. Public Policy, pp.149-162.; Reinarman, C., Cohen, P. and Kaal, H. (2004) The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and in San Francisco, American Journal of Public Health vol. 94 pp.836–842

[41] Gettman, J. “Marijuana Arrests in the United States (2007),” The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform,

November 2009

[42] Morral A.R., McCaffrey, Daniel F. and Susan P.M. (2002), Reassessing the marijuana gateway effect, Addiction.1493-504

[43] The Joint Campaign, Should we not legalize recreational use of Cannabis? Times of India, TNN Retrieved from: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/the-joint-campaign-should-we-not-legalize-recreational-use-of-cannabis/eventcoverage/17167279.cms

[44] Sharma Anil, Starting the day with the cup that kicks, Hindustan Times, IANS, Retrieved from: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/starting-the-day-with-the-cup-that-kicks/article1-255630.aspx

[45] Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2012,(2012) E/INCB/2012/1, United Nations Publication, ISBN: 978-92-1-148270-6 Retrieved from: incb.org/documents/Publications/AnnualReports/AR2012/AR_2012_E.pdf‎; Chopra I. C., Chopra R. N. () The Use of the Cannabis Drugs in India, UNODC. Retrieved from:  https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1957-01-01_1_page003.html#

[46] Domosławski A.(June 2011) Drug Policy in Portugal: The Benefits of Decriminalizing Drug Use, Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Foundations Retrieved from:  https://reformdrugpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/drug-policy-in-portugal-20110829.pdf.

[47] A fresh approach to drugs (October 2012), The final report of the UK Drug Policy Commission., ISBN: 978-1-906246-41-9 Retrieved from:  https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/resources/UKDPC%20%20A%20Fresh%20Approach%20to%20Drugs%20-%20EMBARGOED-1.pdf

[48] Domosławski A.(June 2011) Drug Policy in Portugal: The Benefits of Decriminalizing Drug Use, Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Foundations Retrieved from:  https://reformdrugpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/drug-policy-in-portugal-20110829.pdf.

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[50] UNODC and the protection and promotion of human rights (2012), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Vienna. Retrieved from:  https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/UNODC_Human_rights_position_paper_2012.pdf

[51] A fresh approach to drugs (October 2012), The final report of the UK Drug Policy Commission., ISBN: 978-1-906246-41-9 Retrieved from:  https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/resources/UKDPC%20-%20A%20Fresh%20Approach%20to%20Drugs%20-%20EMBARGOED-1.pdf.

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