On the one hand, there is a strong opinion that legalization of marijuana cultivation should be linked to production and income, but on the other hand, there are also potential security challenges associated with allowing cultivation.

In Gandaki, where a law has already been passed to legalize the production, use and sale of homemade alcohol, the government has again brought a bill to legalize marijuana cultivation. The Ministry of Industry and Tourism had registered a bill to regulate and manage marijuana cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes at the Provincial Assembly Secretariat on October 6. The bill is set to be sent to the committee for discussion in the current rainy session. However, the bill registered in the first week of October has not been able to move forward from the secretariat. Story: What are the provisions related to marijuana cultivation in this bill? What procedures need to be followed to cultivate it? What infrastructure is needed? Let's understand this bill in 15 questions and answers. Story: Who can cultivate marijuana? Story: There is no ban on anyone from cultivating it. Those who want to cultivate it must have a company or firm. That company or firm must be registered and have a permanent account number.

No person is allowed to use marijuana for their personal use. According to the proposal in the bill, marijuana cultivation should have two main purposes: medicinal and industrial. The cultivated marijuana crop should be used to produce medicinal plants or to make any goods and materials.

What procedures should be followed for cultivation? What documents are required?

Two types of consents must be obtained from the government for cultivation. The first is prior consent for cultivation, which has been proposed to be valid for one year. A permit can only be obtained after the prior consent stage is completed.

To obtain prior consent, an application for prior consent must be submitted to the government in the first phase, including the details of the person interested in cultivating marijuana, the area to be cultivated, the recommendation of the local level, the medicinal or industrial purpose, the estimated quantity of marijuana products, and the agreement given by the industry to ensure that the product will be purchased.

If an industry established to produce medicines or consumer goods from marijuana or marijuana products wants to cultivate marijuana for its own purposes, it must submit an application for a license by disclosing all the details related to cultivation.

What to do after obtaining prior consent?

The necessary infrastructure must be prepared within one year of obtaining prior consent. The provision that prior consent will be invalid if permission is not obtained within one year has been proposed in Sub-section 5 of Section 4.

The director may assign an inspector to inspect the production site and infrastructure and check whether it is in accordance with the application. If it is found appropriate during the inspection, permission to cultivate is granted. The cultivation permit is valid for a period of five years. What kind of infrastructure should be built within a year? Article 5 stipulates that the industrialist or farmer must ensure that the place where cannabis is cultivated is kept safe and out of reach of outsiders. For that, the person who has obtained the permit must arrange for the necessary walls or fences and guards. If processing is to be done at the place where the crop is grown, infrastructure arrangements must be made and a place for storage after the harvest is ready. Where and from whom should the necessary permission for cultivation be obtained? For this, the government has proposed in Article 17 to set up a cannabis cultivation regulation and management unit in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the province. A director will be appointed there. The bill proposes to make a ninth or tenth level employee a director. The director, his subordinate inspectors and other employees supervise all farming-related activities. How much land is needed for cultivation?

Sub-section 4 of Section 4 states that prior consent for cultivation shall not be given in an area less than two ropanis. Therefore, those who wish to cultivate marijuana must have at least two ropanis of land.

It is not necessary that the land for cultivation must be their own. Cultivation can be done on land that is in their own name, rented or leased. Details of land ownership should be disclosed at the time of obtaining prior consent.

The government has proposed a provision in Section 3 that allows a district or local level to designate an area where marijuana can be cultivated for medicinal and industrial purposes. Sub-section 2 of the said section has made a provision that while designating the area, land that is vacant, barren or low-productive should be designated as far as possible.

Can cultivation be done for both medicinal and industrial purposes?

The bill does not propose any ban on cultivation for one or both of the medicinal or industrial purposes. This issue should be clarified at the time of obtaining prior consent.

What provisions have been proposed for harvesting and selling marijuana after it has matured?

The provision for selling after cultivation has also been made very strict in the bill. From planting to maturity, nothing can be done without the supervision of the government.

Once the marijuana plant is ready, it must be harvested, stored and sold in advance to the unit, the nearest police office and the local monitoring committee.

Once the marijuana has matured or is ready to be harvested, the licensee must inform the inspector. The bill states that the inspector himself must specify the date for harvesting and inform the licensee.

If the inspector does not specify a date and the inspector or representative is not present on the specified date, the permission of the local monitoring committee coordinator will also work. For that, the farmer or industrialist must submit an application to the committee coordinator. Section 14 provides for the destruction of marijuana that can be used as a drug after cutting and harvesting. What are the provisions for the sale of the product?

After the marijuana is produced, it cannot be sold to any buyer. The person cultivating it must have made an agreement in advance about who will sell it to and how much. Such an agreement must be submitted to the government at the time of obtaining prior consent.

Sub-section 1 of Section 12 provides for the issuance of permission for transportation only after the inspector seals the loaded transportation vehicle or packed sacks, boxes, bags or other similar materials and mentions detailed details. ‘When sealing, in the case of transportation vehicles, strong metal wires shall be used and in the case of other transportation materials, they shall be sealed at one or more places,’ Sub-section 2 states.

If the company or firm with which the agreement is made does not purchase the product, it can also be sold to another industry. However, for this, the approval of the unit director must be obtained.

The buyer must use it for the purpose for which it was purchased. That is, cannabis products cannot be purchased for medicinal purposes and used for industrial purposes, and cannabis products cannot be purchased for medicinal purposes.

What happens if the farm is destroyed?

The bill does not specify anything about the government providing any subsidy or relief to farmers if the farm is destroyed. Section 8 has made a provision that if a cannabis plant is destroyed for any reason during cultivation, the nearest police office and unit must be informed along with evidence.

What happens if the rules are not followed?

Section 10 includes a provision that the license can be revoked if it is violated, the conditions are not followed, the license is not renewed, the marijuana is sold to anyone other than the contracted industry, the infrastructure is not maintained, the records are not kept, or the information is not provided on time.

The bill includes a provision that the area under cultivation, the number of adult marijuana plants as much as possible, the quantity of marijuana produced from cultivation, the quantity of sales, and the details of the buyer must be kept up to date and provided to the unit.

How does the government supervise cultivation?

The bill envisages the establishment of a marijuana cultivation regulation and management unit with a director, inspectors, and the necessary number of employees to issue and monitor licenses. This unit will be under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is proposed that a ninth/tenth-level person will be the director of this unit.

In addition, the bill includes a provision for the formation of a steering committee led by the Chief Minister to monitor and inspect cultivation. The members of the committee will include the Minister of Agriculture, Health, Industry and Forest, the Chief Secretary, the Chief of the Provincial Police, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The director has been assigned the responsibility of the member secretary.

There will be a local monitoring committee under the coordination of the ward chairperson in the ward where cannabis is cultivated. It will include a representative of the nearest police office, the head of the local level agriculture branch, two social workers nominated by the executive, a farmer member, and the ward secretary as member secretaries.

How much tax should cannabis growers pay? Is there a discount or any additional fee?

The government has proposed to impose an agricultural tax on cannabis cultivation. The bill proposes a provision for tax to be paid based on the quantity used for medicinal or industrial purposes.

The bill has made provision for agriculture and forest products-based industries to get exemptions on land used for cannabis cultivation. The provisions related to foreign investment in pharmaceutical or consumer industries, export and sale of goods will be in accordance with the prevailing federal law.

Can the government ban someone from cultivation?

Can the cultivation permit be revoked if they engage in illegal activities? In addition, the bill includes a provision that prohibits the cultivation of such cannabis species if it is found to have an adverse effect on human health during studies and research on cannabis cultivation.

What are the provisions on offenses and punishments?

Section 21 of the bill contains provisions on offenses and punishments. It is proposed to take action in accordance with the prevailing law on narcotics if cultivation is carried out without permission, if cultivation is carried out on land and area other than that specified in the permit, and if anyone sells and distributes cannabis illegally.

Failure to maintain cultivation-related details or records, failure to provide them from time to time, transportation of cannabis products without sealing them or exceeding the seal, and any other act contrary to the provisions of the Act may result in a fine ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 rupees.