Use of cannabis in the ancient world has been found in most part of the worlds including India. Interestingly cannabis whose current status is deemed to be illegal has been of great significance in the ancient times. Be it Ganja or Bhang, we heard about them. 

Firstly let’s distinguish between ganja, charas and bhang. Bhang is equivalent to western cannabis. It is mixed in milk; rolled up in balls or added in the pakora batter to be consumed. Ganja is stronger than bhang and is made from the flower and upper leaves of the female plants. Charas is the strongest of all as it is made from the blooming flowers.

Here is a timeline of Marijuana in India: Lord Shiva

The first mention of Ganja was not in any Jamaican text but in the Sanskrit language of the Indo-Aryan period. Hindus used to regard cannabis the same way as the Christians regard wine for spiritual and religious practices.  For example, Bhang was used in the worship of Lord Shiva and it still holds its association with the deity. His meeting with his “favourite food “happened when he ended up in a field after an argument with his family. After a good sleep under the shade, he decided to taste the leaves of the plant which gave him shade. The taste rejuvenated him and thereby became his favourite food. Since then he was called the Lord of Bhang.

Moreover, it is said that the name of the Bengal was derived from the word bhang. Bangladesh ergo means “Bhang land people”. It was said that people used to consume cannabis and then work. They made excellent cotton cloth and medicine from its effect. Sounds strange?

It has also been mentioned in the Vedas as one of the 5 sacred plants and it was said that a guardian angel resided in the leaves.

In the middle ages, warriors used to consume it right before entering the war just as the western people indulged in alcohol. Apparently being under the influence of bhang/ganja while fighting was also a thing back then. 

When the Britishers arrived in Hindustan they first took their time to understand the culture of using plants to get high. After they understood the process they strategically controlled it and put it to their own profit. They started sending Indian labourers to Jamaica to grow cannabis due to its suitable climate.

Apart from their economic profits, they were also able to find out how harmless it was than alcohol. They were investigating the use of cannabis extensively to put a ban on it but they could not find any disastrous effects of it. if they would have criminalized it back then people would have turned to other more dangerous narcotics which is almost the current scenario.  

In the year 1985, a ruling was passed which made the use of cannabis illegal. According to the rule, the accused will be put in jail for 10 years for possessing it regardless of the quantity.  The punishment is more than the punishment of robbery. It shows the major flaw in the judicial system where justified punishment is not given.  The sad part is that it is not as harmful as it is deemed to be and substances which are more harmful to alcohol gets a free ticket which leads to a lot of causalities and accidents. 

The government is trying to give a clean chit to cannabis again. A bill has been doing rounds in the parliament. The best we can hope is that the citizens of India get to choose whether they want to use cannabis or not. And if they do choose to consume it, they should be at the liberty of doing so.