Organic Turmeric to Weed Out Marijuana in Malkangiri | 14 Jan 2020

Why in News

Recently, the Malkangiri district administration, Odisha has initiated a project to divert the region’s tribals from illegal marijuana cultivation by promoting organic turmeric as a profitable cash crop.

  • Organic turmeric will weed out the marijuana cultivation in remote areas of Swabhiman Anchal in Malkangiri.

Key Points

  • Reasons for Illegal Marijuana Cultivation:
    • Lack of communication.
    • Poverty.
    • Financed by the Drug mafias from outside, allegedly.
    • Source of easy money.
  • This move comes after a survey, conducted in 2019 by the Malkangiri district administration.
    • It revealed that almost all tribal families grow turmeric for their consumption but not for commercial purposes.
    • The district has a suitable climate and geographical conditions so organic turmeric can become the tool of economic development for poor tribals as well as cash crop alternative of marijuana.
    • It is estimated that each acre of organic turmeric can provide ₹70,000 to 80,000 income to the farmers.
  • The project has been implemented by the Horticulture and Agriculture Departments. Interested farmers have been registered for scientific training.

Marijuana or Hemp

  • It is part of the cannabis super-family, is illegal for commercial cultivation though it grows as a weed in several parts of the country.
    • Uttarakhand, Jammu and Uttar Pradesh have allowed restricted cultivation of the plant for medical research.
  • It has two components CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).
    • CBD does not cause intoxication or euphoria and has been successfully proven to provide relief to chronic pain without causing psychoactive side effects.
    • It is THC which is the primary psychoactive components of Marijuana.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychoactive Substances Act, 1985

  • It bans the commercial cultivation of cannabis.
  • The bar does not apply to an edible preparation called bhang, which is allowed in some States.

United Nations Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs, 1961

  • It is an international treaty to prohibit production and supply of specific (nominally narcotic) drugs and of drugs with similar effects except under licence for specific purposes, such as medical treatment and research.
  • The convention refers to drug addiction as “a serious evil for the individual [that] is fraught with social and economic danger to mankind”.

Source: TH