Senator Mandviwalla claims everyone in Pakistan is using hashish

Senator Saleem Mandviwalla recently commented on the increasing use of cannabis in Pakistan, stating, “Everyone in the country is consuming hashish.”

The remarks were passed during a Senate Finance Committee meeting chaired by Mandviwalla. Ministry of Science and Technology officials briefed committee menbers on the Hemp Control and Regulatory Authority Bill.

Mandviwalla argued over whether cannabis or hashish is harmful to health to which officials from the Ministry responded, “We need to assess the level of intoxication in it,” implying that hashish, to some extent, falls under the category of entertainment.

Benefits of hemp

Officials informed the Senate committee that hemp is cultivated on 50,000 acres in Pakistan, and at present, hemp can only be used for hashish production.

Discussing the benefits of hemp, officials highlighted that it can be used to produce cotton and improve soil fertility.

The officials further told the committee, “If hashish is legalised, it could generate $5 billion in revenue.”

Last month, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) seized drugs worth over Rs20 million during various operations across the country. These anti-drug smuggling operations led to the arrest of five suspects and the recovery of over 234 kilogrammes of narcotics, says the spokesperson of ANF.

All suspects have been charged under the Anti-Narcotics Act, with investigations underway.

Notably, the bill and policy were initially developed by the Ministry of Science, but disputes arose between the Ministries of Science and Anti-Narcotics over their roles. It was eventually decided that the Ministry of Defence would take the lead in this sector.