Nepal’s Supreme Court has approved regulated cannabis cultivation, ending a decades‑long ban for medicinal, scientific, agricultural, industrial and horticultural use. A petitioner confirmed the decision to AFP on Thursday.
Nepal Supreme Court Clears Regulated Cannabis Cultivation
The court ordered the government to set up the necessary framework for controlled cultivation and production. It said the arrangement must be strictly regulated.
The approved uses cover medicine, research, farming, horticulture and industry. The judges also urged broader public consultation on recreational use.
The ruling was handed down in May 2025, but a fire during September protests destroyed the original court files. The full judgment was published this week after the documents were recovered.
Petitioner Saroj Adhikari thanked the court, saying the verdict fulfills a long‑awaited legal shift. He called the decision a victory for evidence‑based policy.
Nepal revoked cannabis dealer licences in 1973 under pressure from a US‑led international drug campaign. That move followed decades of de‑facto tolerance in Kathmandu.
Before the ban, the capital attracted thousands of foreign backpackers who bought hashish from government‑licensed shops. The scene made Kathmandu a global hotspot for cannabis culture.
Former health minister Birodh Khatiwada has long campaigned to lift the prohibition. He sponsored a parliamentary motion in 2020 urging legalisation.
Khatiwada argues that regulated cultivation will create jobs, generate state revenue and curb illegal trade. He says a legal market can replace the black‑market profits that only a few reap.
Cannabis grows wild across Nepal, its stems, leaves and resin traditionally used in food, textiles and folk medicine. The plant has deep cultural roots throughout the Himalayas.
Every year, hundreds of holy men gather at Kathmandu’s Pashupatinath temple to honour Shiva, smoking cannabis openly in ritual. Their practice highlights the plant’s historic social role.
Penalties for cannabis offences remain severe elsewhere in the country. Dealers can face up to ten years in prison, and police routinely destroy thousands of plants each year.
Adhikari warned that outright bans are ineffective because usage is widespread. He said regulation with strong enforcement can turn the drug into a revenue source for the nation.
