About 2.8% of Indians aged 10-75 (3.1 crore individuals) are users of any cannabis product, according to ‘Magnitude of Substance Use in India, 2019’, released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment last week. The report deals with cannabis use in two forms: as bhang (available legally in many states) or as ganja and charas which are illegal under the NDPS Act, 1985. More Indians use bhang (2%) than charas/ganja (1.2%). The prevalence of cannabis use is higher than the national average in states such Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. In general, the trend in most states is a higher prevalence of bhang use than that of ganja/charas use. On the other hand, in some of the eastern and Northeastern states (West Bengal, Bihar, Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya), ganja/charas products are used by a larger proportion of people as compared to bhang users, the report said. Nationally, 0.66% need help with their cannabis use, the survey found. This segment includes 0.25% who are dependent on cannabis and others who use the substance in a way that is harmful. Though bhang use was found to be more prevalent than ganja/charas use, dependent use is lower for bhang users (1 in 16) than ganja/charas users (1 in 7). According to the report, this is an indication that ganja/charas is more likely to cause harm or lead to addiction. All forms of cannabis use considered, the proportion of those who need help is considerably higher than the national average (0.66%) in states such as Sikkim (2.9%) and Punjab.
