You may consider that Adult-use cannabis and medical cannabis are more alike than different. Cannabis used for medical purposes and cannabis used for leisure can be said to be quite similar in nature.

Cannabis is a drug that falls under both medical and recreational legal classifications. A physician’s prescription is necessary to use medical cannabis. 

Everybody above the age of 21 is allowed to purchase recreational marijuana. There are many different reasons why people use cannabis, both medically and recreationally. However, allowance for different states will be different and may vary. 

Speaking of differences, Legality and quality are the two main distinctions between cannabis used for medical and recreational purposes (both on prescription and without a prescription). 

For the consumption of medicinal marijuana, patients need to be given/ are required to take additional permissions for the consumption as a cure.

Hemp (Cannabis Sativa) has been used for thousands of years in India, with its roots in Ayurveda. What makes us wonder is that if it was used so freely back then, what is the issue that occurs now?

Hemp was one of the earliest farmed fiber plants, with archaeological evidence of its use dating back to 10,000 BC in Northern China, originating from rope imprints on pottery.

As we know, Ayurveda dates back nearly 3000 years and elaborately identifies multiple aspects of the hemp plant for a variety of potential therapeutic purposes—known as the therapeutic plant, wonder plant, or sacred plant.

While hemp was used for paper and fibre more than for any other thing, today, in India, hemp is being used to make natural medicines, nutritional foods, and textile fibre.

The question that arises is, if the plant has been in use for decades now, what makes it a cause for controversy among countries and lawmakers?

When we think of hemp, we rarely think of Indian culture. The cannabis family is always referred to as a “western drug,” but we do have scientific proof to prove the same.
However, today, hemp is only permitted for medicinal purposes, as defined in the NDPS Act 1985: “medicinal cannabis,” or medicinal hemp, means any extract or tincture of cannabis (hemp). 

A quick summary from our previous blog:

One element that frequently continues to baffle consumers is whether the CBD in the goods is derived from hemp or cannabis. 

The quick explanation is that they are derived from several strains of the Cannabis sativa plant. 

“Marijuana” refers to cannabis containing more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight. The THCHemp-India concentration varies between cannabis plants. Some strains are engineered to contain more THC than others.

In recent years, several countries, including Canada and Uruguay, have legalized cannabis for recreational use, while others have decriminalized it or allowed its use for medicinal purposes.

The INCB, which is a United Nations body responsible for monitoring the implementation of international drug control treaties, has warned that these developments could undermine the international drug control system and lead to an increase in drug abuse and related harms.

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which was adopted in 1961, aims to combat the abuse of drugs and ensure their availability for medical and scientific purposes.

The convention categorizes drugs into four schedules based on their potential for abuse and medical use. Cannabis is listed in Schedule I, which includes drugs that have a high potential for abuse, have no recognized medical use, and are particularly dangerous.

The INCB has emphasized that the legalization of cannabis for non-medical purposes is incompatible with the provisions of the Single Convention and could undermine the efforts of countries to prevent drug abuse and related harms.

The Board has also expressed its concern about the lack of scientific evidence on the long-term effects of cannabis use and the potential risks associated with it.

Moreover, the INCB has pointed out that the legal regulation of cannabis for non-medical purposes could lead to a significant increase in drug abuse and related harms, particularly among young people.

It has also warned that the production and distribution of cannabis in a legal market could be exploited by criminal organizations and undermine efforts to combat drug trafficking.

While some proponents of cannabis legalization argue that it can generate revenue for governments and reduce the harms associated with the illicit market, the INCB has stressed that such arguments do not outweigh the potential risks and the need to comply with international drug control treaties.