When Aamir Dhedhi accompanied his mother to India in 2014 for Parkinson’s disease treatment, he was introduced to the potential of cannabidiol (CBD) oil by doctors there.
They suggested it for management her pain. Upon returning to Pakistan, Dhedhi, a Karachi-based entrepreneur, sourced a small quantity of the oil from the United States.
He noticed immediate benefits as it helped calm his mother’s nerves and reduce tremors. This experience solidified his belief in the therapeutic value of CBD.
“Observing the positive impact of CBD oil on my mother’s health sparked a personal mission,” expressed the 49-year-old entrepreneur to Al Jazeera.
Although his mother passed away in 2020, Dhedhi witnessed the relief CBD oil provided to others.
“Now, I aim to support local growers in expanding production and promoting its usage,” he affirmed.
Dhedhi is not alone in his endeavor to foster a domestic industry for medicinal cannabis.
In February, Pakistan passed an ordinance establishing the Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority (CCRA).
This authority is tasked with overseeing the cultivation, extraction, refining, manufacturing, and sale of cannabis derivatives for medical and industrial purposes.
The CCRA will be governed by a 13-member board, comprising representatives from various government departments, intelligence agencies, and the private sector.
This initiative, proposed in 2020 during former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure, underscores Pakistan’s aspirations to capitalize on the burgeoning global cannabis derivatives industry.
Research organization Research and Markets, headquartered in Ireland, forecasts that the global cannabidiol market, valued at close to $7 billion in 2022, is projected to surpass $30 billion
by 2027.
In contrast to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis that induces a high, CBD is non-psychoactive and is purported to offer therapeutic benefits.
It is progressively recommended by physicians to alleviate anxiety, chronic and acute pain, and various other medical ailments.
Syed Hussain Abidi, chairman of the Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR) and a board member of the Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority (CCRA), highlighted that the establishment of the regulator was mandated by United Nations regulations.
According to Abidi, “The UN laws stipulate that if a country intends to manufacture, process, and sell cannabis-related products, it must establish a federal entity responsible for overseeing the supply chain and ensuring international compliance.”
The regulatory framework outlined by the CCRA sets the maximum permissible level of THC in cannabis derivatives at 0.3 percent, aimed at preventing the misuse of medicinal products for recreational purposes.
Stringent penalties have been delineated in the ordinance for any breaches of the laws, with fines ranging from 10 million Pakistani rupees ($35,000) to 200 million Pakistani rupees ($716,000), and monitoring and inspection activities conducted in collaboration with Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics force.
Abidi emphasised that Pakistan could leverage herb cultivation to its advantage, capitalising on opportunities for revenue generation through exports, foreign investment, and domestic sales, thereby bolstering its fragile foreign reserves.
Until now, Pakistani law has prohibited the cultivation of cannabis, but the country’s northwestern region, particularly the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, boasts thousands of hectares of land where the crop has been grown for centuries.
Historically, governments have turned a blind eye to this practice rather than enforcing strict regulations.
However, the February ordinance seeks to alter this approach.
On one hand, it discusses the “regulation” of areas where cannabis is cultivated in the country and proposes issuing licenses to farmers for growing the plant.
On the flip side, the new regulatory regime could provide the government with a more defined mandate to penalize individuals who cultivate cannabis without a license.
The National Cannabis Policy, formulated by the PCSIR last year and serving as the foundation of the ordinance, outlines that the overarching objective of the regulations is to combat the “illegal and widespread cultivation of cannabis”.
“Technically, cultivation is now legal since the ordinance has been passed, but we are still in the process of developing rules and procedures and awaiting the registration of the authority,” Abidi stated.
Licenses, it is anticipated, will be granted for five-year terms, with the federal government designating areas where cannabis can be legally grown.
The Dream
Abidi noted that estimates suggest there are nearly 28,000 hectares (70,000 acres) of land, primarily in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where cannabis is cultivated.
“We have a long-established tradition of cannabis cultivation,” he remarked. “We need to seize this opportunity.”
Dhedhi, the Karachi-based entrepreneur, concurs. He is collaborating with farmers in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to modernize their cultivation methods, enhance efficiency, and improve the quality of the product.
Cannabis in Pakistan is traditionally grown outdoors, relying on sunlight, with minimal use of pesticides, fertilizers, or other chemical substances.
This organic approach to cultivation sets Pakistani cannabis apart from that produced on a mass scale in many other countries.
However, it also means that both the quality and quantity of production are less predictable. “We have immense potential in this sector to offer health benefits through CBD,” Dhedhi emphasized.
“There is an opportunity to provide affordable medical alternatives to people, benefiting both our domestic users and expanding the potential for export.”
“That can yield financial rewards for our local growers.”
Located more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of Karachi, the Tirah Valley sprawls across a vast mountainous expanse nestled between the tribal districts of Khyber and Orakzai in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Here, Suleman Shah, a 32-year-old mechanical engineer-turned-farmer, shares Dhedhi’s vision.
Shah has overseen his family’s cannabis farms for the past eight years, employing a staff of nearly 40 individuals who cultivate cannabis on nearly 200 acres (81 hectares) of land.
According to Shah, most farmers in the region are unaware of the medicinal properties of hemp and primarily cultivate the plant for its recreational purposes, using traditional methods.
Despite the illegality of cultivating cannabis, Shah stated that he has never faced any repercussions from the government. However, farmers like him encounter other challenges.
The presence of cannabis cultivated in neighboring Afghanistan, where government oversight is even more limited, has historically posed stiff competition for Pakistani cannabis in the local recreational market.
The porous border between the two countries has facilitated the exchange.
“When cannabis was being cultivated in Afghanistan, we often suffered losses, unable to recover our investment in growing the plant.
However, since the Taliban imposed a ban, our business has improved significantly,” Shah explained, referring to the Afghan Taliban, who regained control of Kabul in 2021.
Prior to the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan, Shah reported earning approximately 50,000 Pakistani rupees ($180) per acre, barely enough to cover production costs.
“However, the past two years have been better. Take this year, for example, when I was able to earn nearly 500,000 rupees ($1,800) per acre,” he remarked.
“If the government implements the regulatory framework, it will greatly benefit the farmers,” Shah expressed to Al Jazeera.
“They can offer expertise to the farmers, assist them in research, and cultivate better-quality products for the public, expanding beyond just recreational use.”
Internationally, one liter (0.26 gallons) of CBD oil is priced between $6,000 and $10,000, varying based on quality.
“This is the potential we need to harness by modernizing our cultivation and processing methods,” Shah emphasized.
‘Late to the party’
Not everyone, however, is convinced that Pakistan’s shift towards embracing cannabis production will give its economy the boost it needs.
Fawad Chaudhry, a former federal minister credited with initiating discussions on facilitating CBD and industrial hemp production in late 2020, expressed concern over the four-year delay in implementing the plan. He believes Pakistan has been “late to the party”.
“My suggestion [in 2020] was simply to allocate space for the growth of the plant, issue international tenders for investors, and attract them here.
But we wasted our potential and squandered the time advantage,” he lamented to Al Jazeera.
“The world has progressed,” remarked Robin Roy Krigslund-Hansen, the chief executive and co-founder of Formula Swiss, a cannabis producer and distributor based in Switzerland.
Krigslund-Hansen expressed support for countries moving in the “right direction” by exploring the medicinal applications of cannabis. However, he cautioned against the risk of market oversaturation.
“Germany has recently legalized it. China is a major producer. Latin American countries are also entering the market.
“So, with many countries producing and selling, the question arises: who will be the buyer?” queried the businessman.
He also raised doubts about Pakistan’s ability to produce medicinal-grade cannabis that meets global standards.
“If you want to sell medical grade cannabis, it must be produced indoors, ensuring consistency and uniform production.
“When you grow it indoors, the electricity costs will be exceptionally high to keep the lights and air conditioning, all to make sure that the product remains top-grade throughout,” he said. “And this will cost a significant amount of money.”
Abidi, the government official, however, remained optimistic when addressing these challenges.
He acknowledged that Pakistan required additional resources to “hygienically produce cannabis” but emphasized that his organization had been entrusted by the government to devise processes aimed at enhancing the quality of the product.
“We have developed end-to-end solutions to extract top-quality CBD oil, and currently, we are conducting our research and extraction in Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar as part of our pilot project,” he said.
“We anticipate that within three years, we can easily generate revenues of over $1.5 billion, combining domestic sales and exports.”
Shah, the farmer, said he is also devising indigenous methods to enhance production with the support of entrepreneurs like Dhedhi and stressed that the organic, outdoor cultivation of Pakistani cannabis was its defining characteristic.
“We will be using plastic sheets to cover our plantation instead of constructing greenhouses. We are developing techniques to prevent cross-pollination,” he said.
Abidi, the board member, acknowledged the stigma surrounding the use of cannabis products in a conservative society like Pakistan but noted that the government was relying on the growing awareness of the benefits of CBD among young people.
“The regulatory framework will ensure that people will get only the prescribed, medicinal use products, [and] it will crack down on the illegal sales and consumption of marijuana,” he said.
“Once the clean product goes for retail, it will help curtail [the] black market, and only patients with prescriptions can access it.”
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