Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
BENGALURU: Call them ethical rollers, and for business. A handful of Indian entrepreneurs are shaping the legal cannabis landscape that finds use in healthcare, agriculture and apparel. The prospects for growing industrial hemp — a variety of the Cannabis Sativa strain, which has lower psychoactive properties than marijuana — are massive, attracting attention and investment.
The Bombay Hemp Company (Boheco), which recently raised $1 million from Tata Sons' chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and others, is advocating the use of industrial hemp in textiles, material sciences, and health and nutrition.
"Cannabis is still looked at as something that gives you a high. Few know there are a lot of uses for hemp and the wild cannabis which is grown abundantly in India can rarely be used for intoxication by any part of the cannabis plant, apart from its flower," said Sanvar Oberoi, one of the co-founders of Boheco.
Most of its investments go into R&D. Boheco works with 75 families from Uttarkashi, Rudra Prayag, Tehri Garhwal, and Dehradun making textiles out of raw hemp. Boheco started its own fashion line — B Label — which produces clothing for men and women made of hemp. Almost 25% of its demand comes from Canada, Germany, and the US.
Non-profit organisation Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA) makes a clear distinction between hemp and marijuana. It says hemp commonly refers to the industrial/commercial use of the cannabis stalk and seed for textiles, foods and medical purposes. Marijuana has higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component found in cannabis. Uttarakhand is the first state in the country to legalize cannabis cultivation.
Bengaluru-based startup B.E. Hemp India uses yarn made of hemp to make clothing and accessories like scarves, slippers, wallets and bags. Namrata Hemp Company plans a hemp farm in Andhra Pradesh to cultivate industrial hemp and set up an R&D facility and warehouse.
Hemp companies in India like Boheco and B.E. Hemp have spent a lot of time educating stakeholders, including the government, and the end consumers about the properties of hemp. The first three years for the Bombay-based company were spent educating themselves and others around about the misconception. Boehco co-founder Yash Kotak recalls a funny encounter by an ill-informed attendee at an eco-event three years ago, while chatting about sustainable eco-housing from a material called hempcrete. "He asked if my house is made of hempcrete and if it catches fire, will I get a high," he said.
Oberoi said the government has been quite proactive. The central government, he said, has given the green signal. However, the states can form the provisions of the rule. "As long as there is a particular style of hemp seed, the plant can be used for various industrial purposes. However, there is yet to be a seed bank developed in India. We are working towards that. Science has, in this case, failed to keep up with the policy," he said.
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Its time to make Marijuana legal. For many years it was part of our Indian history, due to our obsession to white people India made it illegal in 1980s and thanks to original pappu Rajiv gandhi for ... Read MoreHowever, B.E. Hemp's founder Elston Menezes said there is still confusion around the regulations. "The states, starting October, banned the sale of hemp seeds all across India. Only the fibre sourced from the seeds can be sold," he said.
Menezes started B.E. Hemp three years ago. Due to this, he has chosen to source his hemp directly from Nepal, China, and the US. The company produces products like rolling papers, lip balm, and notebooks and used to sell it to users in different states until the ban.
Globally, funding for cannabis-centered startups has increased over 90% since 2014. According to research firm CB Insights, big institutional investors, such as Founders Fund, Y Combinator, and 500 Startups are taking notice of this market.
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