What is the largest country in the world for marijuana?

In 2023, India will become the most populous country in the world. The exotic nation is known for Bollywood, great fabrics, technology, a great love story, the Kama Sutra and its cuisine. But what do you think of marijuana? Well, it’s a bit complicated.

India was a series of small nations before the British colonized them and made them part of the great empire. In 1947 they seceded from the UK and became independent under India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. India has 28 states, each with a millennia-old cultural identity. India has 22 different official languages ​​and is home to a total of 121 languages ​​and 270 native languages. It is also home to the world’s oldest language, Hindi

It is known that cannabis has been around in India since at least 2000 BC. is consumed. It’s a bit complicated how they deal with marijuana these days.

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India’s main religion is Hinduism. The third largest religion has a trinity of gods: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. Shiva was a fan of marijuana. Cannabis is one of the most sacred Hindu plants, and it is written in the Fourth Veda to relieve anxiety. Hence, it is used as a sacred spiritual and religious plant.

Maha Shivaratri, also known as “Night of Shiva”, is an important holiday in India. On this day, Hindus worship Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati with customs and traditions that are thousands of years old. According to legend, it was the night Shiva married his bride and experienced the beauty of love and the pleasure of sex for the first time. Marijuana use is considered part of the holiday. It is believed that Shiva consumed marijuana both for relaxation and for better concentration during meditation. The tradition lives on worldwide today.

During Holi, the annual Hindu festival of colors, a drink called Thandai, which literally means “to cool down,” makes an appearance. Depending on where you go, the traditional milky concoction may be infused with a touch of Indian edible cannabis called bhang. Bhang has cultural significance for Indians.

What is Bhang? An avocado green paste made from young leaves, flowers and stems of the cannabis plant that is soaked, ground and then mixed with whole milk or yoghurt to make a shake. The legal status of cannabis in India is unclear. Some states allow it, others and from a federal perspective do not. But if you take a drive in many places, you’ll come across state-owned shops that say “Bhang Shop” in bright scarlet letters. Bhang is very popular and accepted in the country.

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As a country of contradictions, marijuana enforcement and legalization in India is somewhat of a mystery. The Assam Ganja and Bhang Prohibition Act 1958 prohibits the sale, possession, purchase and consumption of ganja and bhang. The Bombay Prohibition Act of 1949 prohibits the manufacture, possession and consumption of bhang and bhang-containing substances in Maharashtra without a license.

Even possession of prohibited drugs (weed or marijuana) is a criminal offense under the NDPS law in India. The purpose of drug possession is not relevant and the penalty depends on the amount of drugs in possession. If a person is caught using drugs or is found to be a drug addict, they will not be prosecuted if they voluntarily choose to seek rehabilitation treatment.

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As Shiva would say, “You are free to make any choice, but you are not free from the consequences of those choices.” In India, one can have, use, and meditate on marijuana as long as one is not caught by the wrong person. If so, it’s a negotiation of what happens next.