The anatomy of the cannabis plant
At the centre of the storm around the Narcotics Control Bureau’s investigation into the alleged drug trafficking in connection with actor Rhea Chakraborty — given bail by Bombay High Court on 7 October 2020 — following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and what has now become an ‘inquiry’ aimed at “uprooting the drug citadel in Bollywood”, is a plant that goes by many names: cannabis, hemp, marijuana or pot.
As potent as various parts of its anatomy may be, not all of them amount to criminality under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cannabis is a generic term used to denote the several psychoactive preparations of the plant Cannabis sativa. The major psychoactive constituent in cannabis is Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The Mexican name ‘marijuana’ is frequently used in referring to cannabis leaves or other crude plant material in many countries.
Most species of cannabis are dioecious plants that can be identified as either male or female. The unpollinated female plants are called hashish. Cannabis oil (hashish oil) is a concentrate of cannabinoids — compounds which are structurally similar to THC — obtained by solvent extraction of the crude plant material or of the resin.
The WHO says that cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug in the world.
According to the NDPS Act “cannabis plant” means any plant of the genus cannabis. The legislation that was enacted in 1985 succeeded the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930. It was introduced as lawmakers felt that the older legislation that entailed a maximum punishment of up to four years was not strict enough to check drug trafficking.
Under section 2 (iii), the Act defines cannabis (hemp). The sub-sections refer to parts of the plant that come under the purview of the Act.
‘Charas’ is the separated resin extracted from the cannabis plant. The NDPS Act covers separated raisin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish.
According to a 2018 WHO report by the Secretariat of the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), “The resin can resemble a resinous secretion of the plant, which is produced in the glandular trichomes, but also occurs as finer plant material, which appears as loose or pressed sticky powder, depending on the method of production.” Charas is also commonly called ‘hash’.
Section 2(iii)(b) of the NDPS Act defines ‘ganja’ as the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant but it clearly excludes the seeds and leaves, when not accompanied by the tops, by whatever name they may be known or designated. Street names for the drug include ‘weed’ and ‘marijuana’.
The Act also illegalises any mixture with or without any neutral material, of any of the two forms of cannabis – charas and ganja — or any drink prepared from it.
No. As defined in the Act, the legislature left seeds and leaves of the cannabis plant out of the ambit of the NDPS Act.
The serrated leaves of the plant have negligible THC content. THC is the psychoactive or intoxicating compound present in the cannabis plant that is mainly responsible for giving consumers the ‘high’. ‘Bhang’, which is commonly consumed during festivals like Holi, is a paste made out of the leaves of the cannabis plant, and is hence not outlawed.
Similarly, CBD oil — an acronym for cannabidiol derived from the cannabis plant — that surfaced in the NCB’s investigation of WhatsApp chats between Sushant Singh Rajput’s talent manager Jaya Saha and Rhea Chakraborty, Saha’s lawyer said, would not come under the NDPS Act.
“Our research shows that CBD oil is made from the leaves of the cannabis plant and hence does not attract the NDPS Act,” said criminal lawyer Ayaz Khan, who represents Saha. The information on the bottle of the ‘CiBiDiUM’ brand of the oil that Saha suggested Rhea could give Rajput, stated that it contained no THC.
Khan also pointed out that the bottle does not bear the ‘NRx’ sign that prescription drugs that contain substances that may come under the NDPS Act, are required to have according to section 97(c) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act that refers to labelling of medicines.
The NDPS Act does not permit the recreational use of cannabis in India. While CBD oil manufactured with a licence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used, it is not very common. Some Indian websites do sell CBD oil with a prescription and many even facilitate it.
Former head of the psychiatry department at AIIMS, Dr Sudhir Khandewal said, “Some states in the US have legalised CBD oil but we do not prescribe it here. Cannabis content is very low and it has very low THC and has no addictive properties. More than anxiety and depression, it has been found useful in cancer treatment like in multiple myeloma. For associated symptoms of cancer it has been found useful. There have been several discussions on this. Cannabis is mired in so much controversy. It should not have been in the NDPS Act, but unfortunately, it is.”
“We are still struggling with drugs to treat cancer and mental illnesses and so claims are made by everybody and people also want to try it. CBD also has a non-specific recommendation. People think it will at least have a ‘feel good’ factor or cheer up the person,” he said.
Medical practitioners said many people suffering from anxiety and depression are known to buy it legally in the US and bring it back to India for personal use in small quantities.
