Until a few decades ago, a medicine produced by Singha Darbar Vaidyakhana was very popular for the treatment of diarrhoea.
But in 1976, after Nepal enacted the Drug Control Law, marijuana cultivation and its use were banned in Nepal.
With the participation of Nepal in the international treaty 'Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961' passed by the United Nations Conference, the production of many Ayurvedic medicines made by Sinha Darbar Vaidyakhana was stopped.
Director General of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine Department Dr. Vasudev Upadhyay says, "After cannabis was banned in Nepal, some of the drugs made using it continued to be manufactured using alternative herbs, but some drugs stopped being produced."
Among those that have been discontinued in this way is the medicine called 'Ratobari'.
“That medicine is still remembered by old people. But now that medicine is not made because its main ingredient was marijuana. After banning ganja, it also stopped being produced," Ayurveda physician Dr. Sarada Khanal says.
'Useful' in treating many diseases
Director General of the Department Dr. According to Upadhyay, the book 'Charaka Samhita', which has been in vogue in Ayurveda for almost 2,000 years before today, also mentions that the use of cannabis and cannabis made from it is useful for medicine.
"That's why cannabis has been used in traditional medicine," he says.
Director General Upadhyay and Dr. According to Khanal, diseases that can be treated with cannabis-derived drugs are:
• Digestive and stomach diseases
• Nervousness and headache
• Mental illness and depression
• Pain relief and cancer
Health Research Council researcher Dr. According to Vishnu Marasini, there are many medicinal properties in cannabis produced in the highlands and Himalayan regions of Nepal.
“Cannabis contains a substance called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Apart from that, there are other alkaloids (alkaloids),” he says.
According to him, these elements found in marijuana are useful in reducing pain and treating depression.
"It's even higher in high-altitude cannabis in Nepal," he says. “The higher the altitude, the more THC is found. It decreases towards the lowlands.”
According to Marasini, marijuana also has male and female plants.
"The cluster of flowers on the female plant is called 'inflorescence' and this element is more abundant in it," he says.
Not every cannabis plant has this element, and some have more or less. But the researchers say that due to Nepal's climate and altitude, the plants produced here have more of those elements.
“If you can process and extract THC, it's a very good drug. Research has now shown that it is also one of the best sources of medicine,” says Marasini.
According to Chandra Sapkota, the former managing director of Vaidyakhana Development Committee, more research is being done as it has been shown to be effective in treating cancer patients in many countries.
“Research has started in foreign countries for its use in the treatment of cancer. Cancer has excruciating pain, this helps ease that pain,” he says.
"Ganja is also a medicine and good clothes can be made from it," said Sapkota.
But according to researcher Marasini, cannabis plants with many medicinal properties are not effective for textiles, and plants that are considered good for making textiles are not considered good for medicine.
Nepal bans 'import from abroad'
In collaboration with Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine Department, the Health Research Council and the government think tank Policy Research Foundation have researched the medicinal use of cannabis cultivation in Nepal.
According to Santosh KC, the pre-information officer of the drug administration department, although the 'cannabinol' and 'cannabinoids' extracted from marijuana are used as pain relievers, drugs using them are not in circulation in Nepal.
He says that medicines made from marijuana, which are recommended to reduce pain, do not come to Nepal even from abroad.
"It has also been found to be good for mental illness in some people, including outpatient cancer patients and those living in care homes. The search is on but there is still a dispute about it,” he said.
"Ganja is currently not used in any medicine that is imported into Nepal and produced here."
However, Marasini, a researcher at the Research Council, said that he found that cannabis was being imported from abroad for medicinal purposes in Nepal. Such imports are through "unofficial channels" as the department does not grant permission. That is illegal.
Marasini says that cannabis in Nepal is not used in any medicine other than domestic use.
Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, the former president of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association, claimed that no medicine made from cannabis was imported into Nepal.
“We do not use it in the medicine we manufacture. There is no import in Nepal," he said.
But according to Marasini, "however it came, it is being used as a medicine".
"It appears to come in the form of processed capsules or injections," he said.
Advocating cannabis cultivation in Nepal
Officials say that along with permission for cultivation in India, permission for cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes has also been voiced in Nepal.
A few years ago, a group of MPs under the leadership of CPN-UML MP Sher Bahadur Tamang registered a proposed bill in Parliament to legalize cannabis cultivation. But the bill did not go through the parliament.
According to Ayurveda doctor Khanal, there is good potential for cannabis cultivation in Nepal and the production of medicine from it.
"Ganja has been found to have been used in 48 medicines and 11 different 'formulants' in the past at Sinhdarbar Vaidyakhana," says Khanal.
According to Sapkota, the former head of Vaidyakhana Development Committee, the medicinal properties of ganja are explained in 'Wanari Gutika'.
"We didn't realize it was only going to be used as a drug," he says.
Director General of the Department Upadhyaya says that even though it is for investigation, they are also taking initiatives to remove legal obstacles.
"We know that it has medicinal properties, but we have to investigate whether it has side effects as well, as more studies are yet to be done," he says.
'Not to start from tomorrow'
After it was announced that the feasibility of cannabis cultivation for medicinal purposes will be studied in the next financial year's budget, some MPs, including former Prime Minister KP Oli, expressed doubts about the government's announcement.
"Who is trying to do this marijuana cultivation? Who is the merchant sitting with the seed?” He asked the question in Parliament.
While answering the questions raised about the budget, Finance Minister Prakasharan Mahat said that the countries that are lobbying for its ban are about opening up the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
He said in the parliament, "They will continue to take advantage of it, and we will not stay in the old mentality?"
Some have said that the government should be very careful about the risks that may come from legalizing marijuana cultivation and that it needs to be discussed.
Finance Minister Mahat said in the Parliament, "It is not said that it will be started from tomorrow. Legal hurdles also had to be cleared. We have said for medicinal purposes. It can also be used for recreational purposes.”
Sapkota, the former head of Vaidyakhana Development Committee, thinks that there should be a study on making medicine from many plants found in Nepal, not just cannabis.
"Not only cannabis but many plants found in Nepal have grounds to say that the country is rich. "Which politicians could not handle properly," he says, pointing out that there is a risk of abuse if not managed.
Risk of abuse
Although the Narcotics Control Act 2033 states that research on marijuana can be done with the permission of the Government of Nepal, the Drug Administration Department has said that it has not yet given permission to anyone for research.
Experts say that the main reason for this is the convention signed by Nepal and the laws made after that.
According to Govind Thapalia, head of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Nepal Police, controlling the illegal cultivation, smuggling and addiction of marijuana in various places in Nepal has become a big challenge for the police.
Former police officers say the risk of abuse is high when cannabis is cultivated for medicinal purposes.
"How to control it can also be a matter of concern for the administration as the possibility of its misuse is equally slim," says Marasini, a risk researcher.
But he estimates that a quantity of medicine will be released from one plant and farmers can earn 400 to 500 from one plant in the current situation.
"If the government thinks that people will have problems after consuming marijuana, it should be banned in a controlled manner only for medicinal purposes," says Ayurveda doctor Khanal.
Budget for the control of marijuana cultivation
While the government is saying that it will study the feasibility of marijuana cultivation, the police spends a huge budget every year to stop the cultivation of marijuana.
Narcotics Control Bureau chief Govind Thapalia said that the police is spending a huge budget every year on activities such as manpower mobilization, demolition and public awareness campaigns to stop the cultivation of marijuana.
"We are deploying teams in different places to spread public awareness not to cultivate and destroy them where they exist," he said.
But according to him, there is still a challenge to prevent it in remote areas.
According to the police, it is widely cultivated in Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Dhading, Rukum, Rolpa, Jajarkot and Baglung districts.
