Pakistan Approves Government-Controlled Hemp Plan

Pakistan has approved the legalization of hemp for industrial and medical purposes, the Hindustan Times reports. In a tweet, Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry called the reforms a “landmark decision” which will “place Pakistan in the billions of USD CBD market.”

The nation’s first ever hemp and cannabis licenses were approved for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. The plants will be grown at an Herbal Medicine Park in Jhelum. Chaudhry said the government-controlled program will allow the research to include “adequate safeguards” through the Ministry of Narcotics.

The rules define industrial hemp as containing 0.3 percent THC or less, in line with definitions in nations that allow hemp production.