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Karan Madhok’s ‘Ananda’: All that we imagine as cannabis

The author makes a case for reclaiming the cultural, religious and medicinal heritage of cannabis as our own, before it is expropriated by other countries
Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India by Karan Madhok. Aleph. Pages 416. ~999
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Book Title: Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India

Author: Karan Madhok

This is a rather unusual book, grafted on the back of the author’s travels in 11 states in pursuit of his research on the cannabis plant and its derivatives — ganja, hemp, bhang, hashish and charas. Most of us have a nodding, if not sniffing, acquaintance with cannabis, but know little about its botanical structure, origins, history, economics, legality, religious connection or medicinal value. Karan Madhok has dug deep to educate us on these aspects, but in a manner which is personal, anecdotal and sometimes humourous.
We learn that the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis is a chemical called THC, and the higher the THC, the more potent the drug. The plant consists of the stem and the flower; it is the latter that contains the highest concentration of THC, from which the hashish and charas are produced, and hence banned in India. The stem has a very low level of the chemical, from which bhang, ganja and hemp are derived and these are legal. The hemp is used for making ropes, baskets, footwear, clothing, etc, and is an important part of the economy of Himalayan villages such as Malana in Himachal, whose Malana Cream is acknowledged to be among the finest in the world. There are also the Idukki Gold of Kerala, Sheelavathi of Odisha and Koraput Purple of the Andhra-Odisha border. Whether in its potent or weaker form, cannabis has been used for centuries for medicine, recreation, nutrition, and has a deep connection with religion.
The United Nations estimates that 4.3 per cent of adults consume cannabis; it is the most widely used, cultivated and trafficked illicit substance in the world. But states are ramping up the pressure to legalise controlled cultivation of cannabis for medicinal, scientific and industrial purposes and to amend the NDPS Act. Uttarakhand has already done this to some extent and Himachal, too, passed a resolution to this effect last September. Such a measure could revolutionise the economies of these states and create huge employment opportunities in agriculture, processing and transportation sectors.
Supported by statistics and independent studies, the author raises a pertinent point: is the state justified in spending humungous amounts of financial, administrative and judicial resources in enforcing the NDPS Act on drugs like cannabis? The kingpins of the drug cartels are never caught, it is only the “foot soldiers” — the impoverished farmer, the carrier, the middleman — who are convicted. The Act gives the police and other agencies a blank cheque to harass and extort money (as in the Aryan Khan case) and breeds corruption. The draconian prohibition of these milder and organic drugs is driving the youth to harder, more dangerous, chemical formulations. (The author points to the epidemic of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is reportedly responsible for two-thirds of drug-related deaths in USA and is now the leading cause of death of Americans aged 18 to 49).
And finally, he argues, that this harsh policy is also depriving the state of billions of dollars of revenue and denying livelihood opportunities to the poorest of farmers in the most backward, forested and hilly areas where the plant thrives. We should learn from USA where half the states have already legalised cannabis, and a state like California earns about $6 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) annually by licensing its use and consumption.
For me, the most interesting part of the book is where the author details the connection between ganja/bhang and India’s syncretic culture and religion. For, as he puts it brilliantly, “much like the Indian Constitution, cannabis is secular” and representative of the “Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb”.
Cannabis is associated with all major religions of India; it is extolled by Persian poets as a “heavenly guide”; is considered by some Muslim sects as the embodiment of the spirit of the prophet Khidr in whose honour the Sufis consume it; in Tantric Buddhism, it is extolled for its medicinal powers; the Nihangs refer to it as sukha prasad and it is consumed during the Hola Mohalla festivities (even though Guru Nanak is supposed to have opposed its consumption). It is almost at the core of Hinduism, associated with practically all its major gods and festivals. It is offered to the gods or consumed in many forms at many major temples across the breadth of the country. In food, bhang is to be found in many of the favourite dishes/drinks in several states.
The Zeenat Aman song ‘Dum Maro Dum’ (‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, 1973) has become the cannabis anthem for the nation, defining the nous of a whole generation. Since then, the association has stuck with the Hindi film industry, for better or worse, through ‘Aap Ki Kasam’ (Rajesh Khanna, 1974), ‘Silsila’ (Amitabh Bachchan, 1980), ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (Deepika Padukone, 2013), culminating in the drug-related controversies of Sushant Singh Rajput and Aryan Khan. As the author observes, we have a Janus-faced attitude to cannabis — we both worship and villainise it, there’s a thin line between spirituality and sin!
Madhok also gives us a thumbnail account of the history and geographical spread of cannabis, beginning with Columbus arriving in America wearing a hemp jacket! We learn that more than 50 nations have legalised or decriminalised the plant for medicinal and industrial purposes, and are reaping the benefits in terms of revenue, tourism, reduced alcohol consumption, employment and treatment of various chronic diseases. There is a huge global market for hemp products — from textiles, furnishings, construction materials to ropes, paints and plastic substitutes. India is not even a player in this market, with its share of the global trade at just 0.0002 per cent. He cautions that if we don’t quickly revise our NDPS-centred policy on cannabis, we shall miss this bus completely. Small beginnings have been made: there are about 100 start-ups in areas such as ayurvedic medicines, wellness centres, restaurants, textiles, etc, but this is not even scratching the surface of the vast potential that this, our very own Indian plant, offers.
The author’s final message: it is time to reclaim the cultural, religious and medicinal heritage of cannabis as our own, before it is expropriated by other countries. We have to look back to look forward, he says. But is anyone listening?
— The writer is a former IAS officer
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