Marijuana: Should it be Criminal to Use?

Introduction

In today’s time, a lot of people consume alcohol and the stigma based on it has also reduced to great extent. If we talk about the consumption of tobacco-based products we can observe that despite the health advisory floating every now and then related to the use of cigarettes, the level of smokers hasn’t gone down to any extent.

Coming to the most debatable and “hot topics” of the legal world about certain drugs to be legalized and the use of drugs, especially the most controversial and talked about substance: Marijuana.

Medicated utilization is another predominant hone within the nation, but it still happens behind closed entryways. The circumstance has not continuously though been the same. In antiquated Indian writings, pot has been characterized as the sedate of divine beings; the Vedas empower the utilization of the sedative as well.

Talking in a brief about the legal element involved, you will be surprised to know that marijuana was legal in India until the year, 1986 after which the government enforced the narcotics and drugs prevention act 1985 which proved to be a turning point in the aspect of drugs in the nation.

Ever since the substance marijuana got banned in India, the people who were in favour of the decriminalisation and legalisation of marijuana started campaigns and drives in order to make a change in the legal status of the drug.

There is no doubt that the drug has proven to be beneficial for terminal illness patients, for example in order to alleviate the pain of cancer patients, a lot of doctors in the western countries have opted for marijuana and other forms of cannabinoids, and it definitely has helped a lot as a medicinal source.

According to a research paper by Harvard, marijuana has 100 active forms or components which can be used for medicinal purposes.

The form of marijuana that is least intoxicating in nature is CBD (cannabidiol), and its oil is also used for patients with psychiatric disorders and terminal illnesses.

Hence, the question of legalization in India of marijuana becomes tricky and a complex issue.

About Marijuana

Cannabis basically, is a mind-altering or a psychoactive form of a drug, extracted or derived out of the cannabis plant. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main element of the cannabis which has psychoactive properties and responsible for giving a “high” or heavily intoxicating a person.

Overall, it has been found that cannabis has 465 compounds, and cannabinoids being 65 in number.

Cannabinoids are chemical compounds that are structurally similar to the compound, tertahydrocannabinol.

The term “marijuana” has a Mexican origin In Mexican, cannabis is called as marijuana.

There are multiple effects of marijuana and multiple ways to consume it.

It can be smoked, vaporized, taken with food or in an oil format. The effects associated with the intake of marijuana are elation, changed states of intellect and sense of time, trouble concentrating, an impeded short-term memory and body development, relaxation, and an increment in craving.

The uses of marijuana are numerous, from spiritual; medical to recreational, cannabis is versatile as it changes its hue along with the needs and uses associated.

Coming to the mechanism of cannabis or marijuana, we need to understand the pharmacological aspect for better reasoning as to why it is in a grey zone in legal aspects.

The high extent or magnitude of the lipid-solubility, i.e. the ability of a chemical substance to dissolve in fats, oils, and other fluids of cannabinoids results in their persisting or continued presence in the body for long periods/durations of time. Even after a single administration/dose of tetrahydrocannabinol, traceable levels of the substance can be found in the body for weeks or longer (depending on the amount of substance administered and the sensitivity of the assessment method). [1] Investigators have suggested that this is an important element in marijuana’s effects, may be due to the cannabinoids’ accumulation in the body, specifically in the lipid membranes of neurons.

As a lot of research papers have been written on this topic, and a pioneer in research, Harvard has already highlighted a lot of medical benefits of cannabis.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Wrongdoing (UNODC) expressed that the sum of THC decides the power of the cannabis. Cannabis has three shapes of items- bloom or natural products, gum/resin (hashish) and oil (hash oil). Whereas cannabis by and large contains 5% THC, the resin is able of containing up to 20% of THC. Cannabis oil has the capability of containing more than 60% THC content.

Effect on Human Body:  Fatal or Not?

Cannabis makes a person euphoric by releasing dopamine through activating the brain.

It makes a person devoid of feeling any emotions and resultantly, numbness takes place disrupting the concentration levels. It also decreases cortisol, or stress hormone levels.

Now the question arises as to how many doses can prove to be fatal in case of marijuana.

The answer is fifteen hundred pounds in 15 minutes, which is physically beyond the capability of a human being. [2]This was also published in an article in the United Kingdom.

So it refers that there can be no sudden death due to marijuana but yes, slow and continued intake can interfere with your daily life activities.

There have been many researches that have shown that marijuana helps in reducing tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease, by relaxing the muscles. It has also helped Cohn’s disease patients and HIV patients too.

But this does not mean that the use of marijuana should be unchecked and unregulated, but the medical marijuana in India should be given encouragement as it will help the dark zone of

marijuana to be filled with light through research and even possibly through it cures can be derived for the suffering patients.

We need to remember that everything has a black and white aspect, and we need to balance it.

Current Situation In India – Through Case Laws

ARJUN SINGH V STATE OF HARYANA, AUGUST 21, 2004

In the case of Arjun Singh v State of Haryana, Arjun Singh was caught travelling with 15.5 kg of Bhang (hemp) in a train. For that recovery, the appellant was charged for the offence punishable under Section 20-B of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The argument on the side of the appellant was that Bhang was not defined as a psychotropic drug under the act and hence its possession is not an offence.

[3]The final verdict from the Chandigarh High Court was that taking cognizance of the NDPS act, Bhang is not cannabis under the act but it is a cannabis plant so, its not illegal to consume Bhang leaves but production of Bhang is illegal.

DILE RAM V STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, 24 SEPTEMBER, 2009

In this case Dile ram was accused to be carrying Charas in a red bag and tried to runaway when being caught.

He was charged under section 20 of the NDPA act.

[4]Later on after verifying the lab samples, photographs and other evidences, the accused was acquitted of the charges, as the evidences revealed he was carrying Bhang leaves.

These cases are a mirror that there exist lacunae in the Indian legal system with respect to the laws on drugs and other forms of narcotics, and the categorisation and segregation is not done meticulously, which makes these laws confusing and sometimes it affects the decisions of the lawmakers as there isn’t enough definition or explanation when it comes to these acts.

India has a long way to go, and we have a lot of things to streamline.

We do not only have to streamline the existing laws but also to chalk out new ones for better justice delivery process in such cases.

School of Criminology with Respect to Drug Abuse and Expert’s Opinion on This Matter

In order to understand the criminology linked with drugs, we have taken 2 concepts or theories and explained them for a brief know how:

The learning and cultural transmission theories– suggest that crime is influenced by social interactions. And in this pretext we can assume drug abuse to be influenced by societal interactions. Akers’ (1998) social learning theory and its precursor, Sutherland’s (1947) theory of differential association are the most influential of the learning perspectives within criminology.

These theories focus on socialization and treat criminal behavior as the result of social learning processes; specifically, through differential association, the acquisition of criminal definitions and attitudes, imitation and modelling/imitation  of criminal  behaviour.

The more recent or new take is Anderson’s code of street (1999) which revolves around the values with regards to modern urban underclass to define crime, and criminal behavior and also encompasses behaviour issues and drug abuse issues.

[5]Elliott’s integrated delinquency theory-Elliott and his colleagues (1979) imbibed the concepts from the original strain theory and social control theory stated that peer bonding processes play a vital role in the uptake of drugs.

He investigated the role of peer networks in drug abuse the influence associated with minors.

 He stated that low social control increases the likelihood of association with delinquent peers, which encourages or promotes the social learning of crime.

Role of Positive Criminology on Drug Abuse

 Positive criminology encompasses the fact that positive influence on a person can reduce the criminal behaviour and even helps in the rehabilitation processes.

This is also true for drug abuse as people suffering from drug abuse and helps in recovery process.

[6]The good lives model is based on this positive criminology. The Good Lives Model (GLM), first given by Ward and Stewart and then developed by Ward and colleagues, is a strengths-based approach to offender rehabilitation that is in response or in sync to offenders’ particular interests, abilities, and aspirations or will. It also directs practitioners to explicitly construct intervention plans that help offenders to imbibe the capabilities to get the things that are personally meaningful to them. It assumes that all individuals have similar aspirations, desires and needs and that one of the primary responsibilities of parents, teachers, and the broader community is to help each of us acquire/ achieve the instruments required in order to make our own space in the world and to carve our own path.

Current State in India

Marijuana has been a part of lives in India since centuries, and commenced sometime in the 2000 BC. The cannabis preparations in India are mainly in 3 forms:

1. Charas (resin)
2. Ganja (flower)
3. Bhang (seeds and leaves)

For now, Bhang is the most widely used legal drug in the country. The consumption of the same has been allowed by the NDPS Act in India. However, several states have imposed their own laws to ban the consumption of the same. Some of them have set a benchmark on the quantity of the bhang that one person could carry at a time, accompanied by the age restrictions. The states of Assam, Mumbai, and Gujarat have banned the use of bhang from their respective state laws. But, in February 2017, Gujarat government legalized the use of bhang citing that it is consumed as a blessing from Lord Shiva.

Laws in India

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs treaty of 1961 had classified cannabis to be a hard drug. India was one of the parties to the treaty. Taking into account the cultural and traditional value of marijuana in the country, the Indian delegate put forth the opposing view on the ban. Consequently, marijuana remained legalized in India but India had to limit its export of Indian hemp. Despite the settlement, the US continued to pressurize India to club the definition of marijuana with hard drugs and impose a ban on the same.

 In 1986, India was successful in establishing the NDPS Act in the country in lieu with the Single Convention treaty, thereby imposing a ban on the manufacture, possession, consumption, and sale of marijuana, however definition of marijuana under the treaty excluded the seeds and leaves of the cannabis plant from the definition of hard drugs.

 The year, 2015 introduced the arena of the Great Legalization Movement in India. This year witnessed first organized efforts towards the legalization of marijuana. The spark for the same was so high that, one of the Lok Sabha MPs brought it out on Reddit exclaiming himself to be a supporter of legalization relating to the drug and also that he had consumed it on several occasions as well. This didn’t stop here as , in July 2017, Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development in India stimulated the legalization of the use of cannabis for medical purposes. As a result of the same, the first license to grow cannabis for research purposes was issued. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with the Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO), was granted the license.

Later, in 2017, Mr. Viki Vaurora, founder of Great Legislation Movement wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister and MPs of India, in order to persuade them to legalize cannabis and hemp for medical and industrial use on an urgent basis. The Prime Minister’s Office then asked the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to conduct research to obtain the potential benefits of cannabis and issue a response to Mr. Vaurora’s letter. In 2019, the Delhi High Court agreed to hear a petition filed before it by the Great Legalization Movement Trust, wherein the Trust had challenged the ban on marijuana. The grounds for PIL are the arbitrary, unreasonable and unscientific nature of the NDPS Act.

Is Legalization Valid? Why or Why Not?

Points in favor

If we look into the supportive points of marijuana being legalized the surely there is a firm belief that marijuana should not be accessible to adolescent children but to rational/sound-minded adults. Despite its illegal status, marijuana remains the most widely used drug in the world with an approximate figure of 125 million consumers. In India, especially, marijuana does not merely hold a position of drug due to its historical faith and mysticism. Traditional people believe that it assists a person in attaining ‘ecstasy in the original sense’. 

  After the implementation of NDPS Act every sort of Marijuana related activities had been titled as illegal acts. Since then, the country has surely witnessed a number of initiatives towards the legalization of the drug in India. According to supporters believe that marijuana should be legalized for the following reasons:

** Marijuana addiction is scarce

Studies have found out that dependence of alcohol, tobacco and cocaine users stand at 32%, 15%, and 16% respectively and among the users of marijuana, only 9 per cent of the users became clinically dependent on the drug. Limited and controlled use of marijuana can also disable the development of an addiction in the body.

** Taxation would generate government revenue

In the present times, the traders of marijuana charge high amounts from its consumers, since it is sold illegally. The money straight up goes into their pockets and never makes it to the government as the entire process is a blatant part of black market. So in order to generate taxes from the usage of marijuana, the government should take actions to legalize the same.

** Creation of job opportunities

Legalization or precisely the decriminalization of marijuana in India would surely lead to employment generation opportunities in the country. At present, the market is governed by illegal drug traders and their sales and quality are not synchronized. Once the product gets free of the illegal tag, it would be put through the process of regulation. Its manufacture, processing, transportation and sale would require manpower and vehicles. The same would generate employment. Given the scale of consumption, it has the potential to generate employment in all parts and spheres of the country.

** Safer and cheaper than alcohol and tobacco

Even though marijuana is known to have side effects, but at the same time, if we go by the factual grounds, a limited consumption of marijuana does not have severe side-effects. Besides, excess consumption of anything would have an adverse impact. For instance, Tobacco is much more addictive and fatal than marijuana can ever be but it remains legalized in the country. Also digging deeper into this aspect, the stoners or the marijuana consumers tend to remain calm, unlike alcoholics who often tend to engage in rash driving or violent acts. Medical research also suggests that marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol is.

** Medical benefits of marijuana

Evidently marijuana has medicinal properties, as it’s capable of treating cancers, improving metabolism, creating appetite and curing several other physical and mental diseases also leads to a release of dopamine in considerable amount, which makes a person euphoric and calm. It provides a peaceful mental atmosphere to the user.

** Myths about marijuana

One of the most common and popular belief about this drug is that marijuana overdose could kill a person. Dr Paul Hornby, well established researcher, stated that no person could overdose on the drug until there is an exceed in the THC levels which can only happen after smoking 15,000 marijuana joints within 20 minutes. Nevertheless, there stands no chance on earth for a person being able to smoke as many joints within such a short period. In fact, the withdrawal symptoms of marijuana are minimal. As a matter of fact, they are almost negligible as compared to the withdrawal symptoms of tobacco.

** The marijuana prohibition is a massive failure in India

Seemingly, hash and opium are cultivated in huge amounts i.e. thousands of tons in Himachal Pradesh annually. The rate of cannabis consumption has definitely witnessed a rise since always. Marijuana consumption is becoming popular among the youths and is now a status symbol for many; also the early teenagers are engaging in the use as well. Without any rules, they are easily able to procure marijuana from drug dealers without any age identification. 

It has been more than 3 decades now, since the NDPS Act has been implemented but still the country has only witnessed an increase in the consumption of marijuana. It is an indicative of the State’s machinery failure to implement the Act. If regulations are taken into consideration, then it would surely prevent and protect young children from indulging in marijuana consumption out of peer pressure. Just as medicines for mental diseases are only sold on prescription in India, the similar practice could be adopted to enforce the sale of marijuana in the country. It is a popular belief that marijuana was wrongly clubbed with hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. Since all these are defined together, the consequent punishment for violation of the NDPS Act is 10 years of jail. As a consequence of the law and its punishment, people who earlier used to refrain from consuming hard drugs (not marijuana) shifted to stronger substances because the consumption of either of the substances attracts the same punishment.

In a survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2019, it was revealed that 2.83 per cent of Indians were users of cannabis. A German based research firm found that Delhi and Mumbai are home to one of the largest consumers of Cannabis. Further, the UNODC’s World Drug Report, 2016 highlighted that the cost of cannabis in India is one of the lowest in the world at USD 0.10 per gram.

In this matter, India and the US have disparity in views on the use of marijuana and the same also reflect on their drug policies. In the 1940s, most of the States in the US had banned all narcotics drugs, but in India, on the other hand, a more pragmatic approach was taken into consideration in lieu of the same. India focused on hard drugs like opium. In 1893, the Indian hemp drug commission hailed cannabis for its properties that caused mild euphoria and pleasant relaxation to its users. Instead of addressing it as an addiction, it was appraised by the commission. 

Arguments against legalization

The International Classification of Diseases and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has classified and declared cannabis to be an addictive substance, which is capable of causing dependency disorders. While the supporters of marijuana claim that ‘only’ nine per cent of marijuana users become clinically dependent on the substance, the opposing side has used the same figure to substantiate the existence of clinical dependency on the drug. Further, they have emphasized considerably on the withdrawal symptoms of marijuana which includes irritability, sleeping issues and dysphoria.

• For the users who try to quit the consumption, only 71 per cent of those succeed in quitting and rest either exceed the limit or are stuck at the same spot.
•  Supporters have a claim that the use of cannabis controls nausea and vomiting. However, no stats have been provided that are sufficient to prove the significance of cannabis over regularly available drugs. Also, even to stimulate one’s appetite, there are clinically advanced methods of doing the same.
• It is true that cannabis is effective in minimizing the pain, but it is less safe than the approved opiates. Even though the effects of marijuana on extreme forms of epilepsy and multiple sclerosis are positive, but there still lies a loophole as sufficient studies have not been conducted to substantiate the claim. Coming to the fact which involves a lot of skeptical approach is whether the said drug has any positive property or not. It is also observed that even though the drug had medical purposes yet it has its own severe side effects.
• There lies a grey zone with regards to the authenticity of evidence to prove the quorum of beneficial properties of Marijuana in the case of people struggling with Kohn’s disease, forms of insomnia etc. It is often noticed that active users of Marijuana are linked to psychotic problems which also includes a severe disease known as Schizophrenia.
• People who develop addiction to Marijuana at certain stages lack the adequate neural response.
• A set of individuals opposing the usage of Marijuana state that Marijuana is the cause of various types of cancers like Lung cancer and it also causes pneumonia and other forms of respiratory illnesses. Further it is advised that pregnant women having the intake of Marijuana is proved to be fatal for the fetus, but there is no concrete research findings to reinstate all of the above facts.

Conclusion

India, has been a country that has witnessed the barbaric use of prescription drugs or scheduled drugs in its recent history. Talking about the aspect of the medical usage, the alternates of the Opiate family are comparably taken as weaker in strength and it is also seen as compared to marijuana, it is proved to be available with great ease. Also, there are a plethora of painkillers which are high in efficacy so as to provide relief to the terminally ill patients in terms of the quantum pain. Taking in cognizance the side effects that they might have, even marijuana is not left out. It has been observed that the regulatory authorities have approved the research to take place with regards to marijuana, therefore the ambit of legalizing the said drug is not merely a question of mere necessity but also indicates towards a matter of great introspection.

In many instances we have seen that, the younger generations are a soft target to catch. Also, we need to understand that the rich and poor sections alike are the active users of drugs owing to the fact that the rich have lot money to buy the band substance and the poor might settle in for the cheaper alternatives and fall a prey to the toxic cycle of psychotropic substances.

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References:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)#Chemical_composition

[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/how-much-marijuana-take-kill-you-fatal-weed-a8043856.html

[3] https://www.casemine.com/search/in/possession%2Bof%2Bmarijuana

[4] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/153466718/

[5] https://www.google.com/search?q=eloitt+theory+of+crminilogy&oq=eloitt+theory+of+crminilogy&aqs=chrome..69i57.9212j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[6] https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/ccj230/chapter/4-6-positivist-criminology/