CANNABIS CULTIVATION: RELAXING THE STRONG ARM OF THE LAW

The recent media reports of the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine moving to
legalise limited cultivation of cannabis for the usage of Ayurvedic
practitioners were of considerable interest to those in the practice.

And to the public - who had been aware that cannabis is categorised as a
"dangerous drug" in Sri Lanka and that its cultivation, production,
possession, sale and trafficking amounted to a criminal offence.

How much do we know about Cannabis? Or, Kansa, as it is locally known. Or,
ganja, the narcotic made from this plant. Or, Cannabis sativa l., the name
by which the researchers recognise it. Cannabis had been known to have
narcotic and also medicinal and pain-relieving properties in ancient Hindu
literature and in the local Ayurvedic practice.

Names such as "virapati" (hero-leaved), "capta" (light-hearted), "ananda"
(joy), "trilok kamaya" (desired in three worlds) and "harshini" (the
rejoicers) indicate its mild halucinogen properties and aphrodisiac
qualities for stimulating sexual energy. But less known has been its
therapuetic claims for overcoming asthma, phlegmatic conditions, neuralgia,
muscular and joint pains, flatulence, dyspepsia and sub-terminal illnesses.

"There is no Bill as yet. The Minister of Indigenous Medicine has only made
certain suggestions," said W.E. Karunasena, Secretary to the newly
established Ministry of Indigenous Medicine, in an attempt to squash wild
surmises. "Our first step is to formulate a National Policy document for
the indigenous medicine sector which will become part of the National
Health Policy.

We are estimated to have 16,000 Ayurvedic practitioners in the country and
it is important that herbal medicines acquire some standardisation." The
current method by which the locally registered Ayurvedic practitioners
obtained cannabis was by applying to the Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation, with
the submissiion of their medicinal recipes.

The Corporation, in turn, obtained cannabis at no cost, when the Police
brought in stocks seized from raided illicit cultivations to courts, and
the Magistrate ordered such seized plants to be handed over to the
Corporation. "The Corporation sells cannabis to the Ayurvedic practitioners
in powdered form, but they say that it needs to be stirred in burning oil
to extract the real medicinal value," said Karunasena, explaining that this
uniform method of receiving cannabis might not conform to the "secret
recipes" brought down by traditional Ayurveda practitioners through
generations.

Going by the opinions of the Ayurvedic practitioners and officials of the
Ayurvedic Drug Corporation as well as the National Dangerous Drugs Control
Board, the effective way of dealing with cannabis seems to hang in the
balance between defining its value in Ayurvedic medicinal preparation and
its abuse as a "dangerous narcotic" in unauthorised productions.

Such products like Madana Modaka gulis (globlets), sold in "petti kades'
(vendor huts) near schools, are known to be purchased by school boys for
"kicks." On the other hand, Madana Modaka is a legitimate medicinal
preparation in Ayurvedic practice and is sold by the Ayurvedic Corporation
and other reputable Ayurvedic practitioners, while its preparation method
is clearly stated in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of Sri Lanka - its
ingredients being cannabis leaves and seeds fried in ghee, among other
local herbs such as thipal, kottan, corriander, asamodagam and namal renu.
Madana Modaka is usually recommended as a sexual stimulant and for
flatulence and loss of appetite, among other things.

Among over 20 medicinal preparations mentioned in the Ayurvedic
Pharmacopoeia that contain cannabis, are Buddharaja kalka, Jathipalaadi
choornaya, Hinguladhi rasaya (watee), Kameswara modakaya and Ranahansa
rasayanaya (pindi).

"Cannabis is an essential ingredient in Ayurvedic treatment and we use it
as a stimulant for patients recovering from paralysis and nerve-related
illnesses, and as a sexual energiser for impotency," explains Vidya Nidhi
Dr. K. Sayakkara, Secretary, All Ceylon Ayurvedic Practitioners' Congress.

"And such cannabis needs to be fresh." The practitioners are required to
come in person to the Corporation, bringing their entire stocks of
medicinal powders, to have them mixed with required "mathras" (measures) of
the cannabis choorna (powder), made from dried cannabis by the Corporation
personnel.

"If this choorna is not fresh, the medicinal value is reduced. Cannabis
used in our medicines must measure upto certain standards."

Cannabis choorna is sold to the practitioners at Rs.2,300 a kilo, said Dr.
Ramya Tennakoon, Chief Pharmacist, Ayurvedic Corporation. In 2004, the
production of the Corporation Madana Modaka alone will require 300 kilos of
cannabis with a supply of over 1,500 kilos being needed for purchase by
practitioners outside the Corporation. For ageing practitioners, mobility
was difficult and a decentralised method of distributing cannabis was
preferable.

K. Ratnayake, Executive Director, National Dangerous Drugs Control Board,
under which purview cannabis falls as a "dangerous drug," says the Board's
concerns have been about the abuses of cannabis, consumed by smoking and
other ways.

"There is a considerable number of people in Sri Lanka, producing products
containing cannabis," says Ratnayake. "Years ago, Ayurvedic preparations
were in use mainly among the rural peasants and low-income people in urban
areas.

Now their use is gradually being adopted by upper urban classes and
becoming a trend among specially the young people." Citing Madana Modaka as
an example of a medicinal product that is being misused, he said, "Since
there are campaigns against abuses of drugs such as heroin, the young seem
to be under the impression that using an Ayurvedic product like Madana
Modaka could be less harmful to health."

He explains that the purpose of the proposed legislation is to allow only
the Commissioner of Ayurveda of the Ayurvedic Department to grow cannabis
in one central location, after estimating how many kilos would be needed by
the country's Ayurvedic practitioners per year and how many acres could
produce that amount, with due protection being accorded to the area. A
parallel can be drawn with opium, which is imported by the Ministry of
Health and issued to medical practitioners. He feels that another solution
could be to find an alternative to cannabis.

The Bill to legalise the controlled cultivation of cannabis is now at draft
legislation stage, the Sunday Observer learns. Tobacco, however, which is
proven to be harmful to health, continues to be cultivated, manufactured
and sold legally in Sri Lanka. Medical practitioners contacted by the
Sunday Observer declined to comment on the comparative health risks
associated with the two plants. One evaded the issue arguing that they were
regarded in different contexts.

Cannabis is not categorised as a drug in the UK. Dr. A. R. L. Wijesekera,
Former Government Analyst, Chairman Sri Lanka Standards Institution, and
Consultant to the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, says that
although cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug with no medicinal use, in UK under
the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, relating to dangerous drugs, the
cultivation of cannabis is permitted under licence issued by the Secretary
of State for purposes such as research. "In fact, premises may also be
granted licences for smoking of cannabis for purposes of research."

California decriminalised medical marijuana (as it is referred to in the
US) in 1996 according to an Inter Press Service report of December 5, 2003.
Eight other U.S. states have followed suit. Thirty five states were
reported to have passed laws recognising marijuana's medicinal values,
while Jamaica's Ganja Commission recognised possible negative effects of
use and abuse of ganja.

"It is the flowering tops of the cannabis plant which contain the highest
amount of the active ingredient Tetra Hydro Cannabinol (THC) and is made
into the brown coloured narcotic, hashish, explained Dr. Wijesekera. "Local
Ayurvedic preparations only use the leaves and seeds which have very little
THC. The controlling mechnism would be controlling the quantity of THC."

According to the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act No.13 of 1984,
penalties for possessing cannabis depend on the quantity possessed, he
said. "Legislation for Ayurvedic practitioners concerns the preparation
quantities stated in the Ayurveda Pharmacopoeia and they are hardly
detectable."