India
More actions
| India | |
|---|---|
| भारत (Bhārat) | |
| |
| Alwar City Palace through an archway view | |
| Capital | New Delhi |
| Continent | Asia |
| Subregion | South Asia |
| Cannabis Status | |
| Legal Status | Illegal (bhang excepted) |
| Status Since | 1985 |
| Enforcement | Variable by state |
| Documentation | |
| Growing Regions | 4 |
| Growing Areas | 15 |
| Accessions | 255 |
India is a federal republic in South Asia and the source of the largest body of landrace cannabis material documented on this wiki. Cannabis preparations are distinguished by the part of the plant they are made from: bhang from the leaves, ganja from the flowering tops and charas from the resin. That distinction is not only culinary or pharmacological but legal, and it runs through the whole of Indian cannabis regulation.
The subcontinent carries one of the most extensively documented historical records of cannabis anywhere. The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission surveyed cultivation, trade and consumption across British India in 1893 and 1894, and its report remains a foundational source for the wiki's Indian pages.
Legal status
Cannabis is governed nationally by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Charas and ganja fall within the Act's definition of cannabis and are controlled. Bhang does not: the National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances states that because bhang "is not made from cannabis resin or from flowering tops", it "is not covered under the NDPS Act, 1985", which leaves its regulation to the states.[1] Licensing of cultivation is correspondingly a state competence rather than a national one.
The same policy document records that cultivation "will not be permitted" other than for research purposes, and characterises the medicinal use of cannabis in India as having been "extremely limited and confined to alternate medicine such as homeopathy and ayurveda".[1] Within that alternative-medicine frame cannabis leaf is an official drug: it is monographed in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India as vijayā, so the pharmacopoeial name long predates its recent commercial and campaigning use.[2]
Balhara, Sarkar and Singh reviewed the medical-use, decriminalisation and legalisation positions and their then-current status in India in 2023.[3]
Enforcement varies considerably between states, and the state-level record is collected in the eradication campaign hubs below.
Growing Regions
Landrace cannabis growing regions currently documented on the wiki:
| Region | Has conservation status |
|---|---|
| Eastern Himalayas | |
| North Bengal Plains | |
| The Dooars | Vulnerable |
| Western Himalayas | Vulnerable |
Growing Areas
Administrative subdivisions
| Subdivision | Level |
|---|---|
| Assam | 1 |
| Bihar | 1 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 1 |
| Jharkhand | 1 |
| Odisha | 1 |
| Sikkim | 1 |
| West Bengal | 1 |
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Priority | Collected | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250004 | Pindar Valley Karmi General Population 2024 | Medium | 10 December 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250015 | Kali Valley 'Bung Bung Village' Feral Selection 2025 | Medium | 9 December 2025 | Kali Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250013 | Kali Valley Jumma Village General Population | Medium | 9 December 2025 | Kali Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250014 | Kali Valley 'Pangla Village' Feral Seleciton 2025 | Medium | 9 December 2025 | Kali Valley |
| ZOM-IND-WEB-0720250013 | Lataguri 'Neori Nadi' General Population 2024 | High | 7 December 2025 | |
| ZOM-IND-WEB-0720250014 | Lataguri 'Kajaldighi' General Population 2024 | High | 7 December 2025 | |
| ZOM-IND-WEB-0720250011 | Lataguri Feral Selection 2025 | Medium | 7 December 2025 | Gorumara |
| ZOM-IND-WEB-0720250015 | Baulbari General Population 2025 | High | 7 December 2025 | Maynaguri |
| ZOM-IND-WEB-0720250012 | Lataguri General Population 2024 | High | 7 December 2025 | |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250009 | Saur Valley Bharkatia General Population 2024 | Medium | 9 November 2025 | Saur Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250010 | Saur Valley Jajardewal General Population 2024 | Medium | 9 November 2025 | Saur Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250012 | Saur Valley Chatkeshwar Temple General Population 2024 | Medium | 9 November 2025 | Saur Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-0920250011 | Saur Valley Jajardewal Selection 2025 | Medium | 9 November 2025 | Saur Valley |
| ZOM-IND-WEB-0720250010 | Siliguri General Population 2024 | High | 7 November 2025 | |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250020 | Lapas Village General Population 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250011 | Thunja Dilip General Population #3 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250016 | Grahan Village General Population #2 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250007 | Thunja Village General Population #1 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250012 | Grahan Kutla Lower Terrace Selection 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250017 | Grahan Village General Population #3 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250008 | Thunja Village General Population #2 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250013 | Grahan Kutla Middle Terrace Selection 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250018 | Tosh Village General Population #1 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250009 | Thunja Dilip General Population #1 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250014 | Grahan Kutla Forest Selection 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250019 | Tosh Village General Population #2 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250010 | Thunja Dilip General Population #2 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250015 | Grahan Kutla 'Tangie' Selection 2025 | Medium | 29 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1120251700 | Grahan Village General Population 2025 | Medium | 28 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250017 | Lambagad General Population #1 | Medium | 18 October 2025 | Chamoli |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250018 | Lambagad General Population #2 | Medium | 18 October 2025 | Chamoli |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250021 | Atolang General Population 2025 | Medium | 16 October 2025 | Malana Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250006 | Atolang Black Selection #2 2025 | Medium | 16 October 2025 | Malana Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250004 | Atolang Green Mango Selection 2025 | Medium | 16 October 2025 | Malana Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250005 | Atolang Black Selection #1 2025 | Medium | 16 October 2025 | Malana Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250001 | Rasol 'Vairam' General Population #1 2025 | Medium | 14 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250002 | Rasol Pawan Selection 2025 | Medium | 14 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-HIM-1020250003 | Rasol Maya Selection 2025 | Medium | 14 October 2025 | Parvati Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250006 | Pindar Valley Khati Feral Selection 2025 #1 | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250010B | Pindar Valley Khati General Population2024 #3 Grade B | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250007 | Pindar Valley Khati Feral Selection 2025 #2 | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250011A | Pindar Valley Teekh General Population 2024 Grade A | Medium | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250015 | Niti Village General Population 2024 | High | 13 October 2025 | Chamoli |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250008 | Pindar Valley Khati Feral Selection 2025 #3 | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250011B | Pindar Valley Teekh General Population 2024 Grade B | Medium | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250009 | Pindar Valley Khati General Population 2024 #2 | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250012 | Pindar Valley Dhoor General Population 2024 | Medium | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250005 | Pindar Valley Khati General Population #1 2024 | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250010A | Pindar Valley Khati General Population2024 #3 Grade A | Low | 13 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ZOM-IND-UTT-1020250003 | Pindar Valley Jhopra Goan General Population 2024 | Medium | 10 October 2025 | Pindar Valley |
| ... further results | ||||
Eradication campaigns
Indian eradication reporting is organised by state rather than nationally:
Research
| Paper | Date | Type | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research:2024-01-01/Book chapter/cannabis-in-traditional-indian-alchemy | 1 January 2024 | Book chapter | In Maas & Cerulli (eds.), Suhṛdayasaṃhitā: A Compendium of Studies on South Asian Culture, Philosophy and Religion. Dedicated to Dominik Wujastyk (Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 28). Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing, pp. 165–179. |
| Research:2018-12-01/Journal article/cannabis-and-social-change-in-the-indian-himalayas | 1 December 2018 | Journal article | Journal of Ethnobiology |
| Research:2018-09-01/Journal article/indigenous-uses-of-wild-hemp-cannabis-sativa-by-the-local-inhabitants-in-manikaran-valley-of-himachal-pradesh | 1 September 2018 | Journal article | Journal of Non-Timber Forest Products |
| Research:1977-07-01/Journal article/tantric-cannabis-use-in-india | 1 July 1977 | Journal article | Journal of Psychedelic Drugs |
Conservation status
Recent news
All 298 recorded news items from India can be browsed and filtered on the events portal.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PDF) (Report). Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, Part I, Volume VI (PDF). Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ Balhara, Yatan Pal Singh; Sarkar, Siddharth; Singh, Shalini (2023). "Medical Use, Decriminalization, and Legalization of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances: What Does It Mean and What Is Its Current Status in India?". Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 45 (2): 179–184. doi:10.1177/02537176221138496.