What is hydroponic weed? Why are young professionals using it as an alternative to cocaine?

Hyderabad: Hydroponic weed is the new cocaine for young professionals. This growing fad has been a cause of concern for anti-narcotics agencies that have stepped up surveillance to foil attempts at smuggling and peddling of the drug.

The recent bust in Hyderabad, where the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) team caught 14 people while trying to buy Ganja (weed) in the city’s IT corridor, Gachibowli, is the prime example of how the drug is in high demand among the well-to-do young professionals.

The list of buyers included IT professionals, private sector employees, an architect, and even a cardiac surgeon.

Uptick in hydroponic weed smuggling

The smuggling of hydroponic weed saw an uptick after Thailand fully decriminalised cannabis in 2022. However, after growing concern about cannabis creating serious problems for youngsters, the government there last month made moves to criminalise it again. But it will need to be published in the official Royal Gazette to come into force, the deadline for which has not been indicated yet.

Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede said since cannabis was legalised in some Asian and European countries, there have been a lot of illegal imports of hydroponic weed in India, and there have been a lot of seizures across airports.

Increasing demand among IT professionals, television industry people

Sources said that in India, the drug is finding increasing demand among IT professionals, television industry people, and those who are well-paid but have a stressful work culture. An officer from an anti-narcotics agency said that one of the reasons for the young professionals going after this drug is that it is much more potent than the regular Ganja.

Another reason for it being popular is the desire among youngsters to match the high society standards, as hydroponic weed is also highly used by the affluent class, including socialites and Bollywood personalities. ‘They use this drug under the hallucination of getting into that league,’ the officer said.

High street value

The drug has a high street value as it costs around Rs 7,000 or more per gram, depending on the quality. At times, the price is also determined by the financial and social status of the buyer. The price goes as high as Rs 10,000 a gram, which translates into Rs one crore per kg.

Challenge for agencies

Smuggling of hydroponic weed has become a challenge for agencies in India. Besides being legalised in Thailand and some European nations, from where it is illegally sent to India, the smugglers tweak the quantity to prevent longer custody.

Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the commercial quantity for Ganja is 20 kg. Below that, it is either an intermediate or small quantity.

‘What the smugglers are doing is smuggling less than 20 kg, so if their men are caught, they are out of prison in a couple of months,’ the officer said. He added that there is a need to reduce the commercial quantity, which will become a deterrent for its smuggling.

Big concern

The concern is not only hydroponic weed but also other recreational drug use by youngsters worldwide. The latest World Drug Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also expressed concern about the increasing number of youngsters becoming drug addicts.

‘One major concern is drug use among young people, which can be particularly damaging, resulting in higher rates of healthy years of life lost. On average, young people around the world use drugs at least as much as adults,’ the preface by Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, said.

Changing modus operandi to deliver drugs

With agencies on high alert, the peddlers also keep changing their modus operandi to deliver drugs. Like in the Hyderabad case, the peddler sent code words on WhatsApp to his clients, saying, ‘Bhai bachcha aa gayahai’, which meant that he had arrived with the stock.

Sources mentioned another trend where the supplier asks for a selfie of the clients from the location where they are waiting to take the delivery. The supplier sends the selfie and the location to the peddler, who is code-named the rider. The rider finds the client, hands over the pouch to him without speaking a sentence, and leaves within a second.

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What is Hydroponic Weed?

Hydroponic weed refers to cannabis plants grown in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution, rather than soil. Most of the time, it is grown in air-conditioned rooms.

The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in hydroponic weed is much higher than that of regular Ganja.

Code words for Ganja

Weed, Green, Grass, Nugget, Joint, Pot, Baja

Code words with Bollywood names

Heroin dealers have traditionally used the names of actresses to sell the drug clandestinely. The best quality heroin is code-named after the number one Bollywood actress of the time, while the lower quality is named after a B Grade heroine.