STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday said, Jammu is going to pioneer India’s first Cannabis Medicine Project.
Dr. Jitendra said this during a visit to the Cannabis Cultivation Farm of CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine at Chatha near here to get the first-hand information about the cultivation practices for Cannabis in the protected area of the institute and research work being carried out on this important plant.
Dr. Jitendra said, since J&K and Punjab are affected by drug abuse, this kind of project will spread awareness that this substance of abuse has diverse medicinal uses especially for the patients suffering from malignancies and other diseases.
Dr. Singh said, the signing of scientific agreement between CSIR-IIIM and IndusScan was historic not only for J&K but for whole of India as it has the potential to produce those kinds of medicines which have to be exported from foreign countries.
This kind of project will give an impetus for huge investment in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Jitendra Singh added.
During the field visit, Dr Jitendra took stock of the one acre protected area where CSIR-IIIM is presently doing large scale cultivation of superior accessions of Cannabis.
The Minister also visited the glass houses with climate control facilities where research work on improving the varieties for desired cannabinoid content is being performed.
Dr. Jitendra emphasized the importance of using latest technology and the cultivation practices for increasing the produce that would help the farmers.
Dr. Singh also stressed the need for developing newer indigenous varieties that would suit the environmental conditions of our country. He also highlighted the role of biotechnology in this endeavour and encouraged the researchers to continue pushing the boundaries of scientific development.
While briefing the media on the occasion, Dr Jitendra said, Cannabis is a wonder plant from which FDA has approved the drugs such as Marilnol/nabilone and Cesamet for treatment of nausea and vomiting, Sativex for neuropathic pain and spasticity, Epidiolex, Cannabidiol for epilepsy and being used elsewhere in countries.
In J&K, the license was granted to CSIR-IIIM, Jammu for research and protected cultivation and upon permission of GMP manufacturing, the rest of pre-clinical and clinical studies would be completed.
Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM, apprised the Union Minister that at present CSIR-IIIM has a repository of more than 500 accessions collected from different parts of the country.
An application to get license from Excise Department of J&K Govt. for GMP manufacturing and transportation of Cannabis material exclusively for scientific purpose has been submitted long back which is still under process, he informed.
Among others present on the occasion were Er. Abdul Rahim, Chief Scientist and Head RMBD & IST Division, Dr. Dhiraj Vyas, Sr. Principal Scientist & Head, PSA Division, Dr. Sumit Gandhi, Sr. Principal Scientist & Head, IDD Division, Dr. P.P. Singh, Principal Investigator, Cannabis Research Project and Dr. Saurabh Saran, Principal Scientist and I/C Technology Business Incubator and Atal Incubation Centre.