Shimla, May 1 (). A section of growers in Himachal Pradesh is demanding legal permission for cultivation of cannabis as an alternate crop, as the fruit crop faces vagaries of weather every year. Also, stiff competition from cheap imported apples has badly hit their earnings.
The demand of the growers and more importantly, the state has fallen into the trap of huge financial debt of over Rs 75,000 crore. Therefore, the Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu is considering legalizing the controlled cultivation of cannabis for the first time. The main objective is to weed out illegal vendors from the trade, apart from for medicinal purposes and mainly to strengthen the rural economy.
Experts told that selective cultivation of cannabis could generate revenue of Rs 800 to 1,000 crore annually.
He says that there is a huge demand for opium in the pharmaceutical industry. Also, the climatic conditions in the state are favorable for its cultivation.
States such as Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have also allowed selective cultivation of opium, which has greatly helped in strengthening the rural economy.
The wild poppy grows along glacial streams in the alpine regions of the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh at an altitude of 12,000 to 18,000 feet.
Ramesh Singta, a leading apple grower from Jubbal, Shimla’s prime apple belt, said controlled cultivation of hemp would ensure remunerative returns for apple growers, who solely depend on them for earning.
He said, since most of the apple orchards need rejuvenation, which is a costly proposition, the legal cultivation of poppy would yield good profits.
Another grower, Naresh Dholta, told that poppy cultivation would help in curbing its illegal cultivation as it also grows naturally in the forest.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Indian opium has a major advantage over Turkish and Iranian opium, in that Turkish opium contains less than one percent codeine on average, and Iranian opium contains about 2.5 percent, while Indian opium contains about 2.5 percent. Opium, in addition to its morphine content, yields an average of 3.5 percent codeine.
Police officials say vast areas of Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Chamba districts are under illegal cultivation of cannabis and opium, creating a serious problem of drug cultivation, smuggling and use.
Cultivation of cannabis in Kullu district is limited to the highlands of Malana, Kasol and other areas, while in Chamba district, bordering the Doda region of Jammu and Kashmir, it is mainly done in remote areas of Kehar, Tissa and Bharmour.
More than 60 per cent of opium and cannabis produced in Himachal Pradesh are smuggled to countries like Israel, Italy, Holland and other European countries. The rest is sent to Indian states like Nepal, Goa, Punjab and Delhi.
SGK
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