A social cause litigation placed before the Delhi High Court claims that there is not a single document that highlights cannabis as being lethal to human beings. The litigants seek to end the laws in India that criminalise cannabis use.

This group which calls itself the Great Legalisation Movement India, has according to The Hindu, “challenged various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Rules that criminalise the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis.”

The petition was heard by a bench of Justices G.S. Sistani and Jyoti Singh who asked for more details while also highlighting the concerns of rising drug use. The Hindu further reports that the advocacy group is being represented by senior counsel Arvind Datar and advocate J. Sai Deepak.

“The treatment of cannabis at par with other harmful and lethal chemicals is arbitrary, unscientific, unreasonable and hence unconstitutional,” the petition read.

The petition harked back to the research papers published by the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (IHDC) (1894) and the World Health Organisation.

“The issues addressed by the members of Parliament were predominantly restricted to the problem of illicit drug trafficking and drug addiction among the youth,” the plea argued.

The petition also argued that it was kinda weird that government-run bhaang shops were running in this country when the cultivation of cannabis was prohibited.