In remote Indian village, cannabis is its only livelihood
Centuries of tradition and the livelihood of a remote community will go up in smoke if India’s anti-drug laws destroy its marijuana business
For hundreds of years, the tiny village was just a speck lost in the grandiose mountains of the Indian Himalayas.
Malana used to be a four-day hike from the nearest road. Its laws, tradition says, were laid down by the village god Jamlu. People elected their own parliament and disputes were settled in their own court. Villagers would run away if outsiders showed up.
But Malana is hidden no more. For centuries, the villagers have been growing the plant that has made it one of the world’s top stoner destinations, and a battleground – at least symbolically – for India’s haphazard fight against “charas”, black and sticky hashish that has made the village famous.
In 1985, the Indian government gave in to international pressure and banned the production and consumption of cannabis. Possession of 1kg of hashish is punishable by a minimum 10 years’ imprisonment.
Wheat and other grains don’t grow on this land. Nothing else grows here ... What can we do?
In the sleepy mountainous states of North India, marijuana has grown indigenously for hundreds of years. Local lawmakers and officials say the plant is part of their tradition and empathise with people in steep, remote villages who consider cannabis the only cash crop they can grow in harsh weather and terrain.