Is Pakistan set to be the latest country to join the medical cannabis industry?

Pakistan is set to become that latest country to launch a medical cannabis industry, as its National Assembly gets poised to vote through a landmark reform bill.

According to local news sources, the National Assembly placed the Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority Bill, 2024, on its agenda on Monday.

This bill, being debated this week, would seek to set up a regulatory body tasked with establishing a medical cannabis framework in the country.

It comes amid a growing shift in attitudes in the country, which has historically taken a conservative view of cannabis reform, as Pakistan looks towards cannabis to help provide an economic boost.

As such, it was announced late last month that the cultivation of industrial hemp will be allowed to commence in January 2025, a market which the government has estimated could be worth up to $7bn annually in exports.

What happened?

The country’s new coalition government, which was voted into power in February 2024, is pushing ahead with plans to establish a cannabis market.

In February, 2024, The Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2024 was promulgated, primarily seeking to establish a regulatory body to oversee the establishment of a national framework for both medical cannabis and industrial hemp.

The bill was first proposed under the now-ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2020 but has largely been stuck in legislative limbo.

Pakistan’s establishment of a regulatory body, the Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority (CCRA), marks a stark turnaround in its views on the potential of cannabis and means that the country can now push forward with the establishment of a cannabis market without breaching United Nations law, which requires a regulator to oversee the market.

With a clear goal of capitalising on the economic benefits of the plant, the government began work on setting up the regulator in April, quickly seeing the finalisation of its 13 board members, which include representatives from different government departments, intelligence agencies and the private sector.

Since then, the bill has been debated in the National Assembly, with a number of amendments being proposed by the Standing Committee on Defense.

In early August, following ‘extensive debate’ the committee unanimously recommended the bill for passage, pending the consideration of proposed amendments.

During the discussions, Dr Syed Hussain Abidi, chairman of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), explained that medical cannabis is a $30bn global market, while industrial hemp is worth around $5bn.

Further votes on the bill are now scheduled to take place this week.

Industrial hemp

In late August, the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology announced that commercial hemp cultivation would be allowed to begin in January 2025.

Pakistan has historically officially banned the cultivation of hemp, but has largely chosen to turn a blind eye to the thousands of hectares grown in the northwestern part of the country for hundreds of years.

While crackdowns on cultivation have been ramping up in recent years, during the announcement the standing committee suggested that this existing cultivation was already worth around $5bn but was not able to be exploited due to a lack of regulation.

The committee highlighted the legalisation of industrial hemp in 2020, but said the proceeding four years had been ‘wasted’ due to internal political conflicts.

Under the newly established regulator, cultivation licences are expected to begin being issued soon, with suggestions the market could be worth $3bn within a year.

What’s in the bill? 

The bill will cover the cultivation, extraction, refining, manufacturing and sales of cannabis, and which will all be overseen by the newly established CCRA.

All such activities will require a licence to be granted by the CCRA, which will be issued for five-year periods and will non-transferable.

The CCRA will conduct regular inspections of licensed entities to ensure compliance. It is also empowered to enforce penalties for violations, including fines and imprisonment, and to coordinate with the Anti-Narcotics Force for any necessary legal actions.

Violations of the ordinance or the terms of a license can result in significant fines and other penalties. Affected parties may appeal decisions to the High Court.

Under the framework, the level of THC will be capped at 0.3%, even in medical products, and penalties will range from $35,000 to $700,000.

The Federal Government is tasked with developing a national policy governing all aspects of the cannabis market, with input from the Authority and Provincial Governments. This policy will aim to bring illegal cannabis activities within the regulatory framework and promote the cannabis market while ensuring public safety.