KP govt to legalize cannabis, licensing rules announced

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has made considerable progress in the legalization of growing cannabis and hemp, with the province’s Cannabis Regulatory Sub-Committee announcing new guidelines on licensing and excise duties.

The Sub-Committee, led by Abdul Haleem Khan, DG Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control, had a detailed meeting to finalize recommendations on licensing, growing, and processing for medicinal and industrial cannabis. The plan, according to government officials, is to bring about socio-economic development while providing adequate regulatory control.

The committee suggested licenses and charges in varying categories of cultivation and the period of the license: Medicinal cannabis cultivation license for 5 acres at Rs. 0.6 million, Industrial hemp (<0.3% THC) for 5 acres at Rs. 0.3 million, Cannabis processing license Rs. 1.5 million, Industrial hemp processing license Rs. 0.7 million, and Joint cultivation and processing license Rs. 2 million.

It is also recommended by the Sub-Committee that excise duties be charged more in relation to the processing and finished products, rather than in relation to cultivation and transport.

This has been viewed by professionals to create an opportunity for farmers and companies while placing KP on the map for medicinal and industrial marijuana.

However, the Sub-Committee emphasized that these are a part of a stratified approach towards cannabis licensing from the legal standpoint of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.