Weeding out the colonial mindset
Marijuana is considered a dangerous drug in most Asian countries – a view rooted in the rules pushed by the United States almost a hundred years ago.
By Hari Kumar
The seeds of colonialism are not easy to weed out. More so, when it comes to the war on drugs, say Asian proponents of medical marijuana.
Some of the critics point out that the very use of the word “marijuana” in the United States – derived from the Spanish name Marihuana – itself has a racial connotation as the use of the plant known as cannabis, which has hallucination-causing chemicals, was mainly linked to the Mexicans and Blacks until the early 1900s.
The criminalisation of cannabis started with the United States establishing the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930 with Harry Anslinger as the head.
Anslinger presented cases of drug-crazed people turning to murder and other crimes across the country to build a case for a war on drugs. One of the infamous examples was the story of a youth, Victor Licata, who had hacked his family to death with an axe. Licata was high on cannabis, the reports said, underlining the need to eradicate what some people called the devil’s drug.
But later, it emerged that Licata had a mental illness, and there was no proof he used marijuana. But the dye was cast and marijuana was added to the list of hard drugs.
Anslinger also targeted singer Billie Holiday, who struggled with heroin addiction, lost her license to perform in New York cabarets, and continued to be dogged by law enforcement until she died in 1959. For Anslinger, jazz music was “Satanic” music fuelled by pot.
In the post-World War era, the Americans set the ways for the world. The United Nations made Washington’s policy a global directive in 1960, classifying cannabis as a restricted substance. Most countries followed the UN guidelines, and farming and the use of cannabis were criminalised, with some countries reserving capital punishment for the offenders.
Countries like India, where marijuana was linked to religion and local medicine, were granted a 25-year reprieve to regulate domestic use.
The United States now admits war on drugs has failed to achieve its target, and many experts point out the massive expenditure linked to the arrest and jailing of marijuana users. A similar pattern is seen in other countries also.
Research has now shown that some components of marijuana are useful to medical science. This has led to several states in the US and countries like Britain, Denmark, and Israel decriminalising the use of marijuana. However, the use of marijuana is still not open but regulated and, in some places, by medical prescription.
Canada and Uruguay have gone further ahead and now allow it for recreational purposes.
Studies have shown that the “high” the marijuana users feel comes from THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, a chemical that has a psychological consequence. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the US, another ingredient, cannabidiol (CBD), is non-psychoactive and is useful for products from medicine to skincare cream.
Such beneficial effects of CBD have spurred some Asian countries like Thailand to encourage the cultivation of marijuana. The Thai government is slated to distribute one million medical-grade cannabis seedlings in June to households across the country to grow in their yard. The plants distributed are of a kind with less than 0.3 per cent THC, the hallucination agent.
Smoke is yet to clear on how the Thai government will harvest the weed the households grow nationwide, but clinics selling marijuana-infused products have sprung up in many parts of the country. Thailand has some of the strictest anti-drug laws. But the marijuana plant often fell under a kind of “don’t ask- don’t tell” policy as its leaves are used in the local cuisine and that of neighbouring nations like Cambodia.
Thailand, which attracts 90 per cent of the medical tourists coming to Asia, says it plans to integrate a cannabis-linked wellness programme as a part of its holistic healthcare package.
A recent Reuters report said Malaysia and Singapore were in the early stages of debating whether or not to legalize medical marijuana. Taiwan and South Korea have legalised medical marijuana, while China is the largest producer of CBD goods though the country has a domestic ban on use of such products.
Even in countries like Japan, where the legalisation of marijuana has been ruled out, a panel recently recommended a regulated use of products that contain CBD.
The debate about reviving marijuana use in Japan, where hemp – a variant of the cannabis plant – was used widely in the olden days, after Akie Abe, wife of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, talked about her dream to become a hemp farmer. Reports said she also spoke about buying CBD products for her husband, whose health problems cut short his prime ministership.
Another notable figure active in the sector is Priyanka Yoshikawa, a former beauty queen and great-granddaughter of former West Bengal chief minister Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (1967-68). Her CBD-based skincare products are getting popular, but companies like hers shy away from actively calling for the legalisation of marijuana. Most even avoid showing the green leaf on their products, not to advertise the link.
Junichi Takayasu, who runs museum dedicated to the hemp culture told the Japanese Times that the plant has deep links to Japanese culture.
"Most Japanese people see cannabis as a subculture of Japan, but they're wrong. Cannabis has been at the very heart of Japanese culture for thousands of years. Cannabis was the most important substance for prehistoric people in Japan. They wore clothes made from its fibers, and they used it for bowstrings and fishing lines."
But the country passed a cannabis control act soon after the Second World War when Americans took control of the administration.
The biggest hurdle against decriminalising marijuana is the mindset of society and some proponents say this is a colonial hangover. Carl K Linn, the author of a newsletter about cannabis in Thailand, writes that the very concept of using marijuana for recreation is a Western concept. At the same time, it has always been seen as a part of indigenous medicine in countries like Thailand.
“In fact, the very idea of recreation is a Western notion that only gained currency once the West became affluent enough to assume that many people had plenty of extra time on their hands at the end of the workday and on weekends,” his newsletter says.
The lingering influence of American-driven opposition to marijuana can be seen elsewhere too. Recently, the police in the Indian state of Kerala denied permission for a concert to commemorate Bob Marley, citing the singer’s links to marijuana as one of the reasons. This is decades after Anslinger classified jazz music as “pot-inspired” and drove Billie Holiday out of the music venues and to her death.
Still, the winds of change have begun to blow in India. The country voted favourably when the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs moved in December 2020 to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs. On November 15 2021, New Delhi gazetted a notification allowing hemp seed and oil in food products. Soon companies offering health supplements blossomed.
However, these new firms cannot go about freely promoting the content in their products. The Indian law specifies that the products desist from using “image or representation of any part of the Cannabis plant (including the leaf of that plant) other than the seed”. Moreover, the government controls the supply of hemp leaves, with only a handful of companies that cater to the indigenous Ayurveda medical service allowed to enter the field.
Some argue if marijuana trade is regulated instead of suppressed, many governments could rake in billions as tax revenue instead of spending vast amounts on the war against it. For example, according to ABCD agency, a content provider which tracks the global marijuana trade, cities like New Delhi could rake in more than US$100 million if the US tax rate is applied. But the current policy of treating marijuana as a banned substance has driven it underground, and criminals mint millions.
The hemp fibre sector generates a business running into billions of dollars annually and growing due to its biodegradable quality. Hemp fibre use was widespread, especially to make rope, as it added more strength. According to some records, the ship Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 to prove the world is round had used ropes with such hemp-backed strength.
The wheel has turned a full circle in the United States. Nearly two dozen states in the US now allow the use of marijuana, while investors are backing firms involved in research of cannabis-linked products and farming of the plant. The global investment is expected to hit US$57 billion by 2028.
Many medical experts warn against allowing marijuana to be widely used. There is enough proof that its use could lead to severe health issues like respiratory and psychotic problems and even cancer. But reports of beneficial effects from cannabis products, like in palliative care and as a stress reliever, are changing the approach towards the plant.
Still, the seeds planted during the US war on drugs continue to dominate the rules on the use of marijuana in Asia.
Medical science is evolving, and if anything, the two years after the Covid-19 outbreak have taught us that authorities have to be flexible with their policies on medicines and healthcare. Likewise, researchers also have to correct and change their views as new information comes to light. Maybe, that is a lesson Asian governments have to keep in mind as they consider the pleas for decriminalising marijuana.