ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has refused to admit a petition, moved by a Sindh-based lawyer asking that the open sale of bhang, or cannabis, be allowed in the country because of its medicinal value.

Petitioner Amanullah Soomro from Mirpurkhas believes that making cannabis openly available will not only contribute to the national economy — because of the taxes the government can earn from its sale — but will also help weed out “the scourge of heroin” that is devastating our youth.

But the Supreme Court office has returned the petition on the grounds that it was filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution without seeking the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights. It also objected to the fact that the petitioner came directly to the Supreme Court, without first approaching any of the high courts or other appropriate forums for the same relief.

The petitioner had also failed to provide any justification for not doing so, the registrar’s office said.

While returning his petition, the registrar also stated that he had directly invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for the redressal of an individual grievance, which was not permissible.

“I will file an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the registrar office’s decision,” the petitioner told Dawn.

Sharing his experiences, Mr Soomro said that he had used cannabis — on advice from a hakeem — to treat a urinary tract infection, as well as head injuries. The use of bhang in the summer also prevents heatstroke, he claimed, adding that the ‘herb’ gave the user “peace of mind”.

The petitioner claimed that cannabis was already used to prepare several medicines used to treat diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, kidney infections and cancer, among others.

Moreover, cannabis is far less harmful than other drugs or alcohol, which are very injurious to human health, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2016