See inside the Himalayan villages that grow cannabis

Ganja grows wild in the Indian Himalayas, and it’s nearly impossible to curb its illegal cultivation
National Geographic (US)
Monday, February 1, 2016

india-cannabis-himalayaCannabis is illegal in India, but many villagers have turned to charas manufacturing out of financial necessity. “Nearly 400 of the 640 districts in India have cannabis cultivation,” says Romesh Bhattacharji, ex-Narcotics Commissioner of India. "It's time for the Indian Government to stop being a slave of UN-backed policies: since 1985, cannabis use and cultivation has only proliferated." "The obligation to eliminate cannabis in countries with widespread traditional use is a clear example of the colonial background of the [UN] Convention," says Tom Blickman, from the Dutch think-tank Transnational Institute. "It would never pass nowadays."