ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has rejected a draft policy to regulate the production and trade of hemp as two ministries compete to spearhead the efforts to legalise the cannabis derivative.

The policy, presented by the Ministry of Narco­tics Control, proposed the establishment of a new body to oversee the cul­ti­v­ation, harvest, processing and sale of medicinal hemp.

The policy was opposed by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the grounds that medicinal hemp was neither a kind of drug nor a toxic substance, thus it falls outside the purview of the narcotics control ministry.

The move was an apparent retaliation to the objections raised by the narcotics control ministry when the science and technology ministry presented its initial draft of the policy.

In response to the developments, the federal cabinet decided to establish a committee, led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to determine the fate of the proposed authority.

The summary to the ca­­binet highlighted that in May, the Prime Minister’s Office directed that a policy should be formulated by the Ministry of Narco­tics Control in consultation with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

According to the proposed policy, the narcotics control ministry will be responsible for issuing licences and NOCs for the production of industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis as well as their commercial trade.

The ministry will also monitor proposed sites for the cultivation and extraction of industrial hemp and medicinal Cannabis.

The science and tech­no­logy minister would fa­­cilitate research and testing procedures.

The Pakistan Council of Scientific and Indust­rial Research will establish te­­sting facilities for industrial hemp and med­icinal cannabis and facilitate their cultivation, ext­ract­i­­on, refining and product development through res­earch and development.

The summary stated that cannabis sativa was one of the species with the most diverse uses. It can be grown in most climates, is drought resistant and re­­­quires less fertilisers, pe­s­­ticides or herbicides for growth.

Cannabis has also sho­wn therapeutic potential for the treatment of pain and other medical conditions such as epilepsy and spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis.

Currently, China is the leading producer of hemp, the summary stated.

The idea to legalise the production of medicinal hemp was first proposed by Fawad Chaudhry, the then science and technology minister, in Septe­m­ber 2020. The cabinet, led by former prime minister Imran Khan, granted pri­ncipal approval to the project. After the change in the government in April 2022, Nawabzada Shah­zain Bugti, the minister for narcotics control, ap­­proached Prime Minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif, advocating that hemp falls under the domain of marijuana and, therefore, should be regulated by his ministry.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2023