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Cultural Evaluation

In India the country has cracked down on the use of marijuana. The punishment has become
extreme. The country adopted its tough drug regulations in 1985. The new laws seem to be the
way of Western civilization. A person can have more of a sentence than those of a thief with a
second charge of a maximum penalty being death. This is not necessary for a drug that has been
a part of their culture for centuries. Doctors in India think it is an error having these regulations
because of the help it causes for medical purposes.
Indian doctors have asked the government to review the 10-year-old law that bans cannabis
because it is not a public health problem and it has medicinal uses. Last week a panel of experts
at a national conference on cannabis in New Delhi urged the government to decriminalize the
sale and possession of cannabis, allow commercial cultivation of Cannabis sativa and promote
research to explore medical uses of cannabinoids. For centuries, the people of India have been
using marijuana. Marijuana is an important ingredient in many traditional herbal medicines and
is used during certain festivals in parts of the country. In 1961 India was involved in the Geneva
Convention on narcotics and passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in
1985. This act outlawed a large number of narcotic agents including cannabis, cocaine, heroin,
and various synthetic psychotropic drugs. Under the 1985 law it is illegal to cultivate cannabis.
Unfortunately marijuana grows in the wild across India, during and, after the rainy season, it is
impossible to estimate the number of users of cannabis. Enforcement teams routinely destroy
plants, and possession and use of cannabis is a penal offense. Those caught using cannabis have
to agree to undergo treatment or face prison sentences and fines. "Placing cannabis in the
category of the more dangerous and addictive drugs was a historical error," said Devender
Mohan, head of the department of psychiatry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in
New Delhi and a member of the expert panel at the conference. The panel said that cannabis

Cultural Evaluation

products have been in traditional use in India for a long time and that there is no evidence that its
consumption is a public health problem. Instead, the panel said, cannabis has potential
applications in both traditional and modem medicine. Conference delegates cited research studies
that suggest that cannabis can help in the treatment of glaucoma and asthma and that during
chemotherapy it can prevent nausea and vomiting (Mudur, 1996).
Marijuana has been in the culture of India since the beginning of time. The Western
civilization enforced their beliefs on the rest of the world. The creation of the adoption of the
Western civilization caused the loss of religious beliefs for India. Are western civilization
concepts the best way of going about it? In many Doctors opinions the answer is simply no. The
regulations on cannabis have become too strict worldwide. The laws and regulations have taken
the freedom of religion and hurt many people dealing with ailments that need marijuana to
ensure they will become healthy. The argument would be is there a safer medication out there.
The research shows the answer is no. The likelihood of someone hurting themselves or others
while intoxicated by marijuana compared to Oxycotin shows marijuana is safer.

Cultural Evaluation
References:
Mudur, G. (1996). Doctors call for law change on cannabis. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.),
313(7054), 384. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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