India: First medical cannabis license granted to a group of researchers

Following the recent announcement by Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, who advocated the legalizing cannabis for therapeutic use, India intends to focus more on the study of medicinal cannabis. Indeed, the first license to grow cannabis has just been awarded by the government to the Council of Scientific Resarch (CSIR), a group of scientists who will carry out this research with the Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO) in the Indian capital, according to a local newspaper.

Scientific researchers intend to grow twenty different varieties of cannabis for therapeutic use, which will be collected in several regions of India. The aim of this research is to study the medical benefits of cannabis, particularly in the treatment of epilepsy and cancer.

Medical cannabis research on the move

The aim of this research and licensing will be for these Indian scientists to develop cannabis-based medicines. In November 2016, the two partner companies decided to get together to organize the India Cannabis Analysis Research Education (ICARE).

At the meeting, Dr GN Singh, Drug Controller General of India, was present and spoke in favor of the legalization of medical cannabis in India. He had said, «We will take a lenient rather than restrictive approach. As regulators and technocrats, we are with you as long as you can scientifically demonstrate that it is in the best interests of the people of this country.»

Meanwhile, Avnish Pandya and Jahan Peston Jamas, the two research directors at BOHECO explain that «With ICARE, there was already a lot of anecdotal evidence with cannabis globally for regulators to move forward with India's first medical cannabis research license in its scientific implementation.»

He stresses that this research will be carried out in different phases. The first phase will concern the cultivation of cannabis and its chemical profile, the second will focus on the extraction of cannabis, the third on its formulation, while the last two phases will involve clinical trials.

The principals say its course will be regulated, prescription-only and tested for safety and efficacy. «Based on our regulatory assessment, we are confident that India will build a highly scientific and credible medical cannabis program,» they promise.

Mehdi Bautier