Sri Lanka to legalise pot for Ayurvedic use

[Medical Marijuana]

Cannabis is a key ingredient in traditional Ayurvedic medicine and Sri Lanka plans to begin government cultivation of the plant.

Official plans call for Ayurvedic practitioners to be allowed to grow at least five plants each, and the government has designated land for a pilot project.

Despite an official ban on cannabis in Sri Lanka, it is easily available. Cannabis - locally known as kansa - has long been known to Ayurvedic practitioners to contain medicinal and pain-relieving properties and is commonly used to treat asthma, phlegmatic conditions, neuralgia, muscular and joint pains, flatulence, dyspepsia and sub-terminal illnesses.

A spokesman for the newly established Ministry of Indigenous Medicine said "Ourfirst step is to formulate a national policy document for the indigenous medicine sector which will become part of the National Health Policy. We are estimated to have16,000 Ayurvedic practitioners in the country and it is important that herbalmedicines acquire some standardisation."

"Cannabis is an essential ingredient in Ayurvedic treatment", explains Vidya Nidhi Dr. K. Sayakkara, Secretary of the All Ceylon Ayurvedic Practitioners' Congress. "If it is not fresh, the medicinal value is reduced."