Gandaki govt drafts bill for marijuana farming, license mandatory

By Santosh Subedi, Kaski, Aug 7: The Gandaki Provincial Government has drafted a bill to legalise marijuana farming. 

As per the draft, for marijuana farming, only a Nepali citizen can cultivate marijuana; in case of partnership, a Nepali citizen must be a partner, and a 51 per cent investment by the Nepali side is mandatory in the case of a partnership between a foreigner and a Nepali.

It has been stated that if anyone under the age of 18 is involved in the marijuana business, their license will be revoked, and marijuana can only be sold to the Cannabis Board or a body, office designated by the board, or a drug manufacturing body, company, or industry.

The draft stipulates that an investment of Rs 5,000 to Rs 17,500,000 is required to obtain a license for marijuana farming.

It is mentioned that a fee of Rs 5,000 per person is required for the application alone, Rs 5 million for a processing license, another Rs 5 million for an analytical testing license, and Rs 5 million for a local purchase and sale license.