Pakistan to announce policy on cannabis cultivation by December

Pakistan's Minister of Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz, announced that he would present the country's cannabis cultivation policy by December of this year.

During a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Minister Faraz noted that the global cannabis market will reach 95 billion rupees (Editor's note: This is equivalent to 1 billion euros, a figure that is an underestimate.) by 2025.

In briefing the committee on the cannabis production project, the federal minister stated that one liter of CBD oil was worth 10,000 rupees (or 115 euros).

«Cannabis seeds will also be produced near Rawat,» Faraz said.

Officials informed the committee that they would begin by cultivating cannabis for industrial purposes. Initially, the raw materials for cannabis will be imported, and greenhouses will be built in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad.

Officials added that experiments on the’cannabis oil have begun, while the anti-narcotics unit has approved four sites for cannabis cultivation.

The committee chair, Mehdi, expressed concern about the export of raw materials used for growing cannabis. The science minister then assured that strict legislation would be enacted to put an end to the export of these raw materials.

«There is still no cannabis policy in the country. The policy on cannabis cultivation will be implemented by December,» Mr. Faraz reiterated.