Drug Demands Revive Opium Cultivation

Opium cultivators, who were de-licensed or banned between crop year 1999 and 2017, can once again undertake opium poppy farming, subject to clearance from the Narcotics Commissioners. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, India alone accounted for six per cent of the world’s cannabis herb (ganja) seizures in 2016 (nearly 300 tonnes), and reported seizing even higher quantities in 2017 (353 tonnes) - a 20 per cent increase compared to 2016.