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Pakistan’s National Assembly committee on Science and Technology was informed by the ministry that Pakistan can generate a total of $3 Billion in revenue if it starts producing hemp. The committee was chaired by Sajid Mehdi and the hemp discussion was brought into light by the ministry of Science and Technology.
According to statistics, the global hemp industry is currently worth about $45 billion, these numbers are expected to dramatically grow, making the industry reach around $100 billion in 2026. With clear numbers and great resources to grow the crop, hemp can surely prove to be a gold mine for the country.
The ministry of science and technology, while briefing the committee about the hemp policy said that the policy after being approved by the federal cabinet, got back to the ministry in April and now a summary of the policy is to be approved by the new science and technology minister.
Apart from news about the policy, the ministry also announced that it has produced around 93 kgs of hemp with the help of Arid Agriculture University. This hemp was produced for test and trial purposes therefore most of it is now present at the (PCSIR) Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories for testing.
After sending 73 kgs of hemp to PCSIR, the remaining 20 kgs were sent to the National Textile University (NTU). While PCSIR will work towards extracting CBD oil from hemp, NTU will try to make fiber out of it.
Involvement of The Drug Mafia?
While hemp production in this case is being done to extract important resources or imports to increase GDP, however with hemp being an addictive drug, it brings along some negative attractions with itself.
Often confused with marijuana, hemp smells and looks just like marijuana but both plants have different drug effects. Once locally produced, hemp can attract buyers from the drug mafia, who will offer much better prices, thus luring producers in.
To counter this problem, the committee has decided that the whole process would be followed with extreme caution and that “stringent measures” would be taken.
