Cannabis and Bhutan

On a visit to Bhutan, a noted Indian herpetologist commented that the cannabis plant was growing everywhere and nobody seemed to even notice it. Any wonder then that Bhutan tops the world in a measure called happiness. In fact the national happiness index is one the key measures employed in Bhutan.

This beautiful mountain kingdom with pristine nature and a largely intact ancient culture draws people from all over the world. The country keeps a strict regulation of the flow of international visitors so that it is not swept away in a wave of non-sustainable development in the form of tourism related activities.

The largely non-interventionist nature of the Bhutanese government has helped people and the plant to coexist peacefully together with it being used in both social and medical contexts without any major fuss. In fact, Bhutan is possibly a good example of how the world must have been before humans went crazy and decided to prohibit the plant saying it would make everybody mad. It is an example that society does not break down or implode in the presence of natural cannabis growing freely.

What the country however needs to recognize is that the destruction done to the plant in nearly all other parts of the world have now made this plant very precious everywhere. Bhutanese cannabis varieties need to be protected and nurtured with the same kind of passion and reverence that the country holds for the rest of nature. This is because Bhutan is likely to possess some of the most natural varieties of cannabis because of its geography and liberal political climate. Many of these varieties are likely to be rare with their own distinct healing properties. Thus it is vital for the people of Bhutan to actively protect and sustain the plant for the well being of its nation and people. There is the risk that neglect of the plant will cause its destruction and the possible extinction of many precious varieties.

There is also the risk that unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies and global businessmen, especially from India and China, will try to corner the plant for their own selfish benefits by smooth talking the leaders and trying to tell them that the actions they are taking are for the greater benefit of the Bhutanese people while the real intent will purely be to maximize the profits of these global companies and to deliver the cannabis to their European and North American customers. This is the threat being faced by many nations worldwide where cannabis was a part of their culture and sufficient quantities of it still remain having escaped the foolish and shortsighted destruction of the plant by governments everywhere. The country should look at integrating the plant into its industries and products and if it has already been done in some instances, these practices and uses need to be sustained and promoted. Otherwise, without vigilant awareness it is just a matter of time before alcohol, petrochemicals, dangerous synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs and the industries that manufacture them make inroads into the natural world of Bhutan, thus destroying the fabric of Bhutanese society.


Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.   
 

 

'The non-medical use of tramadol among other pharmaceutical drugs is reported by several countries in South Asia: Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In 2017, 130,316 capsules containing tramadol and marketed under the trade name “Spasmo Proxyvon Plus (‘SP+’)” were seized in Bhutan. In Sri Lanka, about 0.2 per cent of the population aged 14 and older are estimated to have misused pharmaceutical drugs in the past year. Among them, the non-medical use of tramadol is the most common, although misuse of morphine, diazepam, flunitrazepam and pregabalin have also been reported in the country. The misuse of more than one pharmaceutical drug (including tramadol) is also a common pattern among heroin users who may use them to potentiate the effects of heroin or compensate for its low level of availability. Recent seizures of tramadol suggest the existence of a market for the drug: in April and September 2018, 200,000 and 1.5 million tablets of tramadol were respectively seized by customs in Sri Lanka.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf

'In Bhutan, marijuana grows everywhere. No one on the street looks twice at the distinctive plants along roadsides, in empty lots, and along garden hedgerows. '
https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/My-Husband-and-Other-Animals-%E2%80%94-Plants-poison-man%E2%80%99s-potion/article13373736.ece


Related articles
The impact of cannabis on traditional competition
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-impact-of-cannabis-on-traditional.html

The Medical Cannabis Industry
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-medical-cannabis-industry.html

Cannabis Markets
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-markets.html

Industrial applications of cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/industrial-applications-of-cannabis_23.html

Global Cannabis Companies
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/global-cannabis-companies.html

Cannabis Biology
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-biology.html

Industrial Research on Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/industrial-research-on-cannabis.html

Cannabis Research in Universities
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-research-in-universities.html

Government Research on Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/government-research-on-cannabis.html

Cannabis Opposition
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-opposition.html

Cannabis Laws
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-laws.html

Cannabis and Crime
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-crime.html

Cannabis Advocacy
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-advocacy.html

Cannabis convictions and imprisonment
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-convictions-and-imprisonment.html

Cannabis and the Black Market
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-black-market.html

Cannabis and Driving
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-driving.html

Cannabis and Law Enforcement
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-law-enforcement.html

Cannabis and Pharma Companies
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-pharma-companies.html

Cannabis and Youth
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/03/cannabis-and-youth.html

Cannabis and the Environment
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-environment.html

Cannabis as an Agricultural Crop
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-agricultural-crop.html

Cannabis as Medicine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-medicine.html

Cannabis for Recreational Purposes
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-for-recreational-purposes.html

Cannabis and Research
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-research.html

The Business of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-business-of-cannabis.html

The Economics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-economics-of-cannabis.html

The Legality of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-legality-of-cannabis.html

The Politics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-politics-of-cannabis.html

The Social Usage of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-social-usage-of-cannabis.html

No medicinal value?
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-medicinal-value.html

Cannabis and Opioids
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-opioids.html

Cannabis and Harm Reduction
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-harm-reduction.html

Cannabis and Alcohol
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-alcohol.html

Cannabis as Universal Medicine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-as-universal-medicine.html

Cannabis and Politicians
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-politicians.html

Cannabis and the Film Industry
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-film-industry.html

Cannabis and Musicians
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-musicians.html

Cannabis and Sports Persons
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-sportspersons.html

Cannabis Tourism
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-tourism.html

The Recreational Cannabis Consumer
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-recreational-cannabis-consumer.html

The History of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-history-of-cannabis.html

Cannabis and the UN
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-and-un.html

Cannabis and India
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-and-india.html

 

Cannabis and China
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-and-china.html