In a first, govt allows industrial and medical use of cannabis extract

The federal cabinet has approved cultivation and medical use of Hemp, which is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for the industrial uses of its derived products.

In a tweet, Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday the “landmark decision” will grant Pakistan access to billions of dollar cannabidiol market.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is derived from cannabis plants, but does not cause users to get high. It focused on young patients with Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy.

“Cabinet has approved first license for @MinistryofST and PCSIR [Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research] for industrial and medical use of Hemp… [The] landmark decision will place Pakistan in billions of USD CBD market,” he wrote on his Twitter handle..

Earlier, comprehensive deliberations were held on the commercialisation of hemp at the Ministry of Narcotics Control, where representatives of the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of National Food Security and Ministry of National Health Services were present.

Ministry of Science and Technology had requested for hemp plantation for industrial use and a summary was prepared for seeking permission from the Prime Minister’s Office.