Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said that the government had approved the first license for the science and technology ministry and the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) for industrial and medical use of hemp. Chaudhry made the announcement in a message posted on Twitter.
“The Federal Cabinet has approved the first license for hemp’s industrial and medical use. The landmark decision will help Pakistan to generate billions of dollars from the CBD market,” he said. The decision reflects the desire of the government to jumpstart business activity and allocate resources towards medical research.
Following the approval of the federal cabinet, seized drugs will now be used to manufacture medicines. Previously, these drugs would be burned. The new development has been welcomed by many on social media, especially young adults who feel that this decision had long been overdue.
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Cabinet has approved first License for @MinistryofST and PCSIR for industrial and medical use of Hemp, landmark decision ll place Pakistan in billions of USD CBD market…..
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 1, 2020
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Was the hemp licensing decision in the works for a long time?
It should be recalled that earlier this year, a video message of the Minister of State for Narcotics Control, Shehryar Afridi, went viral, in which he said that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to set up a factory in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where opium and other drugs would be used to make medicines.
Afridi further said on the Prime Minister’s instructions; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been planning to build a factory in the province where thousands of tonnes of drugs seized every year would be used to make medicines.
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GVS News Desk