Hello,
We all know how we order almost everything online these days, and how easy it is to. Groceries, medicine, food. Just go online, select and pay. Turns out, you can add COD to that list, Cannabis on Delivery. They come in flavours too, cola or berry or mango. Delivered to your door after a WhatsApp call that lasts under a minute. It is legal too, and prescription is only a small ask.
To those who aren’t already aware of this happening around you, this isn’t a joke. It’s the story our reporter Vandana Menon spent months investigating. Cannabis products are sold freely in India as ayurvedic medicine, with no limit on how intoxicating they can be.
Cannabis companies have the cheat code: label something ayurvedic, and a narcotic that would otherwise be illegal becomes a legal ‘wellness’ product. This dangerous trade of cannabis products is licensed and run by the Union government, particularly the Ministry of Ayush. It has watched this market grow to Rs 12,000 crore, and responded with a single advisory telling doctors not to call themselves “cannabis specialists.” while companies make their own rules, regulate their products.
This is all happening even as young people across Indian cities are ordering these products for recreational use. Meanwhile, private firms are cashing in on the cannabis high.
To find out more about the government failures, and regulatory loopholes, read the full investigation here: COD: Cannabis on Delivery
This deep dive happened over several months. The Reporters’ Collective can take on such investigations only because of consistent and generous donors like you. If this kind of watchdog journalism matters to you, fund it.
Warm regards,
Furquan Ameen
Managing Editor
The Reporters’ Collective