War on drugs: Andhra Pradesh tops in cannabis production, low in consumption

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is one of the largest producers of cannabis in the country. However, the state has the lowest proportion of cannabis users in the country.

While the all-India average of current use of cannabis is 2.83 percent, the corresponding average is only 1.04 percent in Andhra Pradesh.

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's survey on Magnitude of Substance Use revealed that Andhra Pradesh stood 13th place in terms of lowest cannabis users in the country with just 1.04 percent users. The survey was conducted in all states and UTs.

According to the survey, Punjab has the highest proportion (12.55 percent) of cannabis users in the country, followed by Sikkim (10.94 percent) and Delhi (8.12 percent). Apart from Andhra Pradesh, the remaining states of southern India (Kerala-1.28 percent, Karnataka-0.54 percent, Tamil Nadu-0.16 percent, and Telangana-0.62 percent) has also the lowest proportion of cannabis users. There is a preponderance of men among consumers of cannabis.

The survey also said that the overwhelming majority of alcohol users are males (about 95%) in the country. States with a high prevalence of alcohol use are Chhattisgarh (35.6 percent), Tripura (34.7 percent), and Punjab (28.5 percent). Over 13 percent of the people in Andhra Pradesh drink alcohol.

Commissioner of Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), Vineet Brijlal said around 2.8 percent of Indians aged 10-75 years (3.1 crore individuals) are use cannabis. "The survey clearly said that AP figures (1.04 percent) are much lower than the national average. We will continue the momentum in Andhra Pradesh to root out the ganja cultivation," he added.

Dr. Uma Mahendra Raj of Greenvalley Foundation, which deals with substance-addicted patients, said that consumption of cannabis has been slowly increasing in Andhra Pradesh for the past few years. "Some youngsters find joy and excitement in ganja. The increased stress, boredom, losing livelihood, anxiety, and few others have triggered an increase in the use of cannabis and others," she added.

The SEB personnel destroyed the ganja crop over 7,500 acres of land in Vizag Agency and East Godavari district Agency (tribal pockets). The total value of ganja destroyed in the state is pegged at Rs 9,000 crore.

- Rajasthan has the lowest number of cannabis users with just 0.13 percent

- More people use bhang (2 percent) as compared to charas and ganja (1.2 percent).

- There is a preponderance of men among consumers of cannabis

- AP police launched the operation Parivarthana programme on November 1, 2021, which involves destroying the ganja crop.

- The Vizag's sheelavathi weed has a market value ranging from Rs15,000 to Rs 30,000 per kg in the cities and metros.

- Ganja trade or cultivation is not new in the Visakha Agency.