India has the potential to create billion dollar cannabis industry: Srijan Sharma at India Today Conclave

Srijan Sharma, co-founder of ItsHemp, said that India has the potential of creating a billion dollar cannabis industry at the India Today Conclave Mumbai 2022 on November 5. The session titled, On a High: The Facts, Fallacies and Fears Around Cannabis and Hemp CBD Products, was also attended by Rohit Kamath and Loveena Sirohi, co-founders of India Hemp Organics, and Chirag Tekchandaney, co-founder and CEO of Bombay Hemp Company.

Srijan Sharma said that building a healthier plant with cannabis is the "dream we're focussed towards." "If we get good marketing, it will go from being the taboo plant to being the wonder plant real soon," he said. He added, "Having a natural alternative to lifestyle disorders is paramount for any individual in India."

When asked about various Google searches about cannabis and if it will make people "high," Chirag Tekchandaney said, "It's been about the better part of the decade that I've been answering about - Will hemp get me high? We're addressing something that's taboo in this country, which is cannabis - one compound of it is hemp and the other is marijuana. The fundamental difference between the two is the compound in the plant called THC. It is the euphoric high that gets everyone intoxicated and hemp, specifically, has under 0.3% THC. When a plant contains 0.3% THC - whether it's used for wellness, or nutrition, you make cookies out of it, and you can wear clothes out of it is legitimate. It will not make you high. From a nutrition point of view, it is known as a superfood. There are many uses that people have actually worked with on cannabis."

Srijan Sharma, on selling T-shirts on which the words are written 'I Sell T-shirts Made of Bhaang', said cannabis is a case of "bad marketing and branding."

"This is something I've said many times before as well. Cannabis is a case of bad marketing. It is the most popular plant and yet it is the most controversial plant as well. Some people talk about it as a plant that will get you high, others talk about it as medicine, food or clothing. In India, we popularly call it bhang, that is where 'I sell bhaang as a living' comes from," he said.
"At the end of the day, it is a plant. You can call it magical or you can call it a drug, it depends on the people who are actually using the plant. We are trying to create something from this plant that not a lot of people are interested in as a commercial activity. Building a greener and healthier planet with cannabis is the dream we're all focussed towards. If we get good marketing it will go from being the taboo plant to being the wonder plant real soon," he added.

Srijan shared that "we're living on a journey of cannabis where we need to educate, cultivate, and elevate the country. We want to live in an India where arthritis, brain cancer, and Alzheimer's disease are all being cured in our own backyard, known as bhaang."

Loveena, co-founder of India Hemp Organics, said that it is "the responsibility of us as an industry" to not make it a taboo and not to limit it to just recreational purposes.

"We form the social movement for medical cannabis as a plant in general. We have to drive forward to education that, yes, it is a taboo in the country exists, yet we have to be well aware that this plant holds a long historical and cultural connection with us. We've been witnesses of so many patients who are benefitting from it. Are we going to recognise this one plant for the single use for recreational purposes? Or for its thousand plus uses where it can be useful for our farmers, the government and the economy as a whole." she said.