If you have ever smoked weed aka ganja/marijuana or if you know anyone who is into it, you might have heard about something like Malana hash, one of the most sought after cannabis variant in northern India.

Grown in the beautiful hills of Himachal Pradesh, it is pretty much a go-to stuff for stoners and available across all 'secret corners'.

But if you are a hardcore user you might have come across something called 'Idukki gold' aka 'Kerala gold'.

The name once again comes from where it is grown - Idukki in Kerala. The district which falls in the western ghats is an ideal setup to grow some real strong stuff. 

Cannabis as a medicine has an ancient history with anecdotes dating back to the Vedic period (c.1500 BCE) in India and Nepal. It wasn’t until 1839 that William Brooke O’Shaughnessy introduced the therapeutic potential of cannabis to the western hemisphere, and another 75 years after that until Sir William Osler, the father of modern medicine, proposed its use for the treatment of migraines and headaches. The criminalization of cannabis has since hindered our ability to research its potential; to-date, much of what we understand is largely anecdotal or based on animal or tissue culture experiments.

It’s no secret that yoga and cannabis often work in tandem. In Colorado, Washington and Oregon, the states where cannabis is legal (along with some medical marijuana states like California), yoga studios are ramping up ganja-friendly classes. Colorado yoga teacher and cannabis advocate Rachael Carlevale recently opened a yoga business called Ganjasana that uses yoga to tap into what she says are innate connections humans share with the cannabis plant.

Cannabis Ancestor There’s a lot we don’t know about the evolution of cannabis, and we’re still not sure exactly what’s going on with cannabis as it exists today – it is one species or several? What does “sativa” and “indica” mean in real terms? We’re still finding the answers to those questions, and a deeper understanding of the past could help our efforts enormously.

The early evolution of cannabis is mostly unknown, and scientists still haven’t reached firm conclusions on exactly what’s going on with cannabis as it exists today – it is one species or several? What does “sativa” and “indica” mean in real terms? We’re still finding the answers to those questions, and a deeper understanding of the past could help our efforts enormously.

Despite statewide anti-drug campaigns and cannabis destruction drive, cases of charas seizure have increased in Kullu district. The police department is now taking help of geographic information system (GIS) mapping to locate cannabis fields in Kullu.

Himachal police and narcotics control bureau have marked about 2,500 bigha of land under cannabis cultivation with help of GIS in remote areas of Kullu. Statewide anti-drug campaigns have failed to control the production and smuggling of charas in Himachal Pradesh. Police claim it is not easy to finish this trade within few days but efforts are on to control the production.

Cannabis derivates such as weed, hash and bang were pretty legal in India until 1985, when the Rajiv Gandhi government supposedly imposed a ban on it by categorizing it under other potentially harmful chemical drugs. There is quite a little conspiracy revolving around The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 which goes by the claims that the liquor lobbyists did not want a direct competition to alcohol. For the record, the Hemp plant (a variety of cannabis) is believed to have over fifty thousand and benefits ranging from paper products, body care, essential oils and nutritional supplements. Besides, weed is believed to be less harmful and addictive to the human body than alcohol or other chemically made drugs.

Clothes made from cannabis? We swear we haven’t been smoking up. Hemp fabric, popular in Neolithic times, with 13th century Chinese and even Cleopatra, is having a fashion moment all over again. And not just with modern-day Rastafarians or the poorer characters on Game Of Thrones. You can now buy comfy T-shirts, flouncy skirts, kurtas and even shoes made from a plant otherwise associated with psychoactive signing out of reality, dude!

Think of hemp as the sober cousin of marijuana. It’s grown without pesticides, GMO seeds or synthetic fertilisers. The textile it yields is durable, insulating and, when processed well, has a linen-like drape. It is bio-degradeble too. No wonder it’s caught the fancy of three Indian start-ups.

The wonder fabric

New Delhi: One must have seen naga babas consuming marijuana. Consumption of Cannabis is legal in various states across the United States of America and some other European countries, but that of course comes with T&C applied.

Here, we bring you some countries where consumption of marijuana is legal:

Czech Republic:

Marijuana is legal in this European country that permits its possession up to 15 grams. It has been legalised for medical use on prescription since 2013.

In many countries, there is an ongoing debate on legalising cannabis (marijuana). This means the drug, not the plant. Such bans or controls are typically creatures of the 20th-century. You may have come across reports about an Indian commission having contributed to initial arguments for a ban. This is the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report of 1893/94. Originally, the commission was set up to examine the use and abuse of cannabis in Bengal and the geographical mandate was later extended to entire India.

Legendary blues singer, Louis Armstrong is quoted as saying,  “It really puzzles me to see marijuana connected with narcotics….dope and all that crap. It’s a thousand times better than whisky – It’s an assistant – a friend.”

And a large number of Bengalureans seem to agree with him.  Over a thousand in the city are reportedly lining up to join the Million Marijuana March (MMM), popularly known as the Global Marijuana March held annually on the first Saturday of May, since 1999 in different cities across the world.