Himachal Government is considering legalization of the cultivation of cannabis in the State as it would play a significant role in generating revenue for the state besides proving beneficial for the patients for its medicinal properties, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Friday.

Sukhu said that the State Government was cautious about the potential increase in drug use and has formed a five-member committee of MLAs. The Committee will conduct a thorough study about each and every aspect related to cannabis cultivation in the State. The committee will visit areas where illegal cultivation of cannabis takes place and submit a report in a month and only on the basis of the report submitted by the committee the Government will take any decision, said the Chief Minister.

He said that even before Himachal Pradesh, cannabis cultivation has been kept under the legal purview in several states of the country. The neighboring state of Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to legalize cannabis cultivation in the year 2017, while controlled cultivation of cannabis is also being done in some districts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, controlled cultivation of cannabis has been permitted in several European Union countries including Uruguay, Canada, USA, Austria, Belgium and the Czech Republic, added Sukhu. 

The State Government would consider all aspects, including regulatory measures and will study other states that have legalized it before making a final decision, said the Chief Minister.

A five-member committee has been set up to study the issue of legalising cannabis cultivation would submit a report within a month.  The committee of MLAs was set up by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on the advice of Chief Minister Sukhu. The Committee, headed by Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, would have chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) Sunder Singh, and three other MLAs — Hans Raj, Puran Chand Thakur and Janak Raj — as members.

The decision to constitute the committee was taken after a discussion on a resolution moved by Puran Chand Thakur (BJP).