Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 2004
Source: Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)
Copyright: 2004 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.sundayobserver.lk
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2993
Author: Kaminie Jayanthi Liyanage
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

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."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom