Indian Supreme Court considers hemp petition

The experience of our colleagues from India, Mexico, as well as several other countries initiating amendments to the regulatory framework governing the possibility of using hemp for industrial, medical and scientific purposes through the Supreme Court of the country can be useful to Ukrainian hemp breeders. At a minimum, it is worth considering the advisability of applying with relevant documents not only to the legislative, but also to the judicial authorities of Ukraine in order to make competent changes to the regulatory framework of our country.

The pages of the profile electronic publication of Ukrainian horse breeders have several times described the mechanisms for amending existing legislation by initiating various kinds of petitions in different countries of the world. In particular, our readers focused on situations where, on the basis of a decision of the Supreme Court, "the Mexican authorities issued four official permits for the cultivation of hemp ." Subsequently, based on this decision of the highest court, "The President of Mexico has decided to legalize the medical cannabisa." 

Over the past few years, hemp breeding in India has been booming. The availability of a regulatory framework for the legal cultivation of hemp in the territory of only a few administrative-territorial units of the country significantly inhibits the development of the industry. In connection with the foregoing, Indian hemp growers initiated a petition to the Supreme Court of the country, which raises the question of the need to regulate the legitimate use of plants for industrial and medical purposes.

Industrial use of hemp

The petition focuses on the fact that the use of plants is also necessary to improve the climate throughout the world, primarily the feasibility of abandoning the excessive use of plastics, thereby demonstrating the environmental friendliness of the economy using hemp raw materials. The document states in particular that “Technical hemp is an agricultural raw material that can be grown for further use in the production of a wide range of products. If agricultural producers in the poorest agricultural regions of the country were not limited in the possibility of cultivating plants at the legislative level, farmers and the state would greatly benefit from growing plants on an industrial scale. ” The above aspect is especially relevant for the country, the second largest population in the world, with a population of more than $ 1.3 billion.

Medical use of hemp

The document prepared by the highest court of the country focuses on the fact that a situation is unacceptable in which hemp, despite the proven therapeutic properties, is on the same list as “harmful and deadly” active substances (for example, opium). In particular, the petition states that “The use of hemp for medical purposes can help reduce the acute health crisis that government agencies are currently facing. “Cannabis is extremely effective in the prevention of cancer and alleviates the suffering of HIV-infected patients, and the therapeutic properties of the plant can help not only the above patients, but, and most importantly, can alleviate the condition of people suffering from chronic pain.”

Criticism of the Drug Act

There is sharp criticism in the petition related to the reform of the Drug Act of 1985, according to which hemp and its derivatives were included in the list of banned substances. During the adoption of the above amendments to the legislative framework, a huge number of positive properties of the plant, including the thousand-year history of the use of hemp in the country, were absolutely not taken into account. According to one of the authors of the petition, “The parliamentary debate on the possibility of using hemp for industrial and medical purposes is largely limited to the problem of drug trafficking. At the same time, the situation is absurd in which the state runs shops in which marijuana is actually legally sold, while hemp breeding is prohibited at the legislative level. ” It is stated that the provisions of the Law on Drugs must meet the requirements of a “reasonable restriction” regarding hemp. The focus is on the fact that at the moment the above regulatory act violates several fundamental articles of the country's constitution. 

The Supreme Court of India intends to complete the consideration of the issues set forth in the July 29 petition. In the event that its initiators succeed, the government will be forced to proceed with the reform of the Drug Act.

Commentary of the Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association

Government officials in India oversee Bhang stores. Bhang consists of dried leaves and small inflorescences of the mother. Since no full-fledged flowers are used during sales, the content of tetrahydrocannabinol controlled worldwide in products sold in the above stores in some cases reaches 5%.

The experience of our colleagues from India, Mexico, as well as several other countries initiating amendments to the regulatory framework governing the possibility of using hemp for industrial, medical and scientific purposes through the Supreme Court of the country can be useful to Ukrainian hemp breeders. At a minimum, it is worth considering the advisability of applying with relevant documents not only to the legislative, but also to the judicial authorities of Ukraine in order to make competent changes to the regulatory framework of our country.