The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology on Monday unanimously passed The Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority Bill, 2024.

Senator Kamil Ali Agha chaired the meeting held at Parliament House. The committee detailed deliberations and passed the bill with amendments, including two members of the Senate, one of whom is a woman, as members of the Board of Governors of the authority, along with amendments to other clauses of the bill.

Dr. Syed Hussain Abidi, chairman of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), stated that the bill aims to ensure public health by regulating the cultivation and production of marijuana and to generate revenue by utilizing the economic potential of the cannabis industry. He highlighted that the plant can be used for industrial and medicinal purposes and has an economic potential of $4 to $5 billion.

Senator Musadik Masood Malik asserted that cannabis use could be limited to medical use and that necessary safeguards should be in place to curb the the abuse of cannabis.

Read Also: Contradictory Moves In Global Cannabis Legalization: Thailand, Morocco And Pakistan Take Different Paths

Four-Year Delay

In September 2020, then-minister for science and technology Fawad Chaudhry initiated the conversation around facilitating CBD and industrial hemp, but the Ministry of Narcotics Control raised objections arguing that the matter falls under its jurisdiction, writes Dawn.

Four years later, Pakistan began working on establishing the Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority (CCRA), a regulatory body in charge of issuing licenses to growers and sellers, as well as designating regions for cultivation. The board of governors of CCRA has been finalized, with the secretary for the Defense Division as chairperson and the chief secretary of each province as members.

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Ministry Of Defense

During Monday's meeting, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senator Shibli Faraz, a former minister for science and technology, questioned why the Ministry of Defense was supervising the Cannabis Development Authority, writes the outlet. It was explained that since marijuana is primarily cultivated in the erstwhile FATA, oversight by the defense ministry and other agencies is necessary to ensure regulation in accordance with UN protocols.

Under the CCRA regulatory framework, the level of THC in the cannabis derivative cannot exceed 0.3% to avoid the abuse of medical products by using them recreationally. Penalties for violations range from 10 million Pakistani rupees ($35,000) to 200 million.

In August, the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology heard testimony about the economic potential of cannabis. Dr. Abidi, noted that medical marijuana is a $30 billion global market and discussed marijuana’s applications in textiles, food and construction.

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