Check benefits of cannabis, Prime Minister’s office tells health ministry

The Hindustan Times (India)
February 17, 2018

As demands for the legalisation of cannabis or hemp gather momentum, the Prime Minister’s Office asked the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) to examine the benefits associated with the plant and respond to a petition within a month. The founder of The Great Legalisation movement, Viki Vaurora, had written to the PM asking him to legalise cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes. The movement gathered steam around December because it was expected that the legalisation would be discussed during the winter session. However, MP Dharamvira Gandhi, whose private member bill seeking legalisation of “non-synthetic” intoxicants, including cannabis, was cleared by the legislative branch of Parliament, said the bill may come up for discussion only in the Budget session.