30 years of marijuana being illegal, India now for Marijuana Legalisation Movement

With several countries in the world, including Uruguay and some states in the USA, legalising marijuana (cannabis), the movement has finally found a foothold in India. The first-ever conference in India for the legalisation of Marijuana will be held in Bengaluru on May 10, although the venue is yet to be finalised.

The Great Indian Legalisation Movement will organise Medical Cannabis Conferences across four cities - Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi on consecutive weekends in May. The seating has been limited to 200 people for the Bengaluru conference.

No, rumours are not true. Marijuana is not America's largest cash crop, but it's still probably a $4-billion annual business. As of 2014, it's also legal to grow, own, and use recreationally in some US states. It's approved for medical and other limited use in 18 more states. Entrepreneurs are racing to take advantage of the new laws and changing attitudes toward the drug. Here are the players and startups you need to watch for a high.

Privateer Holdings is a private equity firm that's making big investments in marijuana startups. Its CEO is 42-year-old Yale graduate Brendan Kennedy, and it counts Peter Thiel's Founders Fund among its investors

San Rafael High School’s claims to fame include adult actress Nikki Tyler and Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” video, but the California campus is best known as the alleged birthplace of 420. Back in 1971, five classmates sought a hidden cannabis crop in the Point Reyes Peninsula, and 420 served as the code word for the search and their 4:20 p.m. meeting time. The legend may or may not be historically accurate, but 420 is definitely the preeminent counterculture holiday with annual cannabis celebrations on April 20. On the fifty shades of green scale, 420 ranks up there with St. Patty’s and Earth Day, and travelers can celebrate with cities to visit, things to do and places to munch.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

In all of recorded history, not one person has ever died from consuming marijuana, says a public interest litigation that objects to the ban on cannabis or marijuana in India, saying that the move is not backed by scientific evidence.

Marijuana should therefore be legalised in the country so as to help patients, says the petition filed by Aditya Barthakur, a 34-year-old lawyer.

Barthakur added that marijuana has several “benefits” including helping cancer patients by easing their pain.

A small, yet significant development in his case, the petitioner says, is the Bombay High Court’s recent issuing of notices to the Central and state governments.

BJD chief whip in Lok Sabha Tathagata Satpathy recently admitted in a social media chat that he smoked pot (hashish and marijuana) in his younger days. To the pleasantly surprised Net audience, the four-time MP from Dhenkanal in Odisha even showed the way to legally score the stuff in his own state. The comments have since gone viral, earning Satpathy many fans for his candid admission and frank opinion on what he says is an unfairly stigmatized subject. In a conversation with Deeptiman Tiwary, he explains his opposition to the "elitist" ban on cannabis consumption in India and how given an opportunity he would stand up for its repeal in Parliament.

You've admitted that you have smoked pot.Now, that's a rare admission by an MP given that it's a statutory offence to do so.

According to Vice: The world is rife with tourists who spend every day in search of new kicks, local drugs and all that is forbidden. Tough tourists often overestimate themselves. They order a Cambodian happy pizza with extra toppings, or buy two pieces of spacecake in an Amsterdam coffee shop rather than one. 

This is how cities, states, and countries become tourist magnets, and businesses are quick to capitalise on tourism opportunities.

Holi is a day when Indians cover friends, family and even strangers with colored powder and water. It is also traditionally celebrated with the consumption of cannabis-infused goodies.

For centuries bhang–which is a paste created by grinding cannabis leaves–has been mixed in milk, laddoos or pakoras as a special treat with a kick for Holi, the Hindu festival of color and spring.

Technically, the cultivation, sale, purchase, transportation and importation of cannabis is usually prohibited in India.

Does that mean everyone participating in the bhang revelry on Holi is breaking the law?

Has your holiday plan been affected by the recent alcohol ban imposed on Kerala? Well, you needn't worry now as the God's own country has found a simple solution. They'll be stirring up a storm with the help of God's own drink- bhang.Yes, you heard it right.

Hinduism, Judaism, and the Rastafari movement of Jamaica may seem on the surface to have nothing in common with each other. But if we take a closer look there are things that the three spiritual traditions have in common. These commonalities grew out the colonial experience of Jamaicans.