This BJD MP Wants Government To Legalize Weed As Banning It Is Turning People Alcoholic

BJD MP Tathagata Sathpathy who earlier this year wrote a letter to TRAI supporting Net Neutrality has come out in open support of Marijuana legalization and won the hearts of the million potheads  in the nation.

His argument in the Lok Sabha was that legalizing weed will reduce the growing alcohol addiction.

 

Sathpathy is no stranger when it comes to being candid about his past experiences with the herb. In a Reddit AMA earlier, Satpathy had disclosed how he used to smoke weed in his younger days.

 

Satpathy says:  “In the villages of my constituency, old people, venerable people used to smoke marijuana… natural marijuana. Today, by imposing a ban on natural substances, which people have been using for ages, from the time of Lord Shiva, we have actually forced a lot of these people to move on to alcohol.”

“Bhang was a very common intoxicant in the holy city of Puri. You could get it on the roadside. It was legally available there. It is available in Varanasi also. You have made it illegal and it has been replaced by alcohol”, he added.

 

Sathpathy very clearly and openly also blamed the ban for the rise in alcohol consumption and addiction.

He said: “Have bans actually helped bring down alcohol consumption? The brightest example is the Gujarat model. The state has been dry since the 1960s, but alcohol is available in every nook and corner of the state… It is the duty of the Centre to tell states not to ban alcohol”.

Mr. Sathpathy, you have my full support. (Unless my parents are reading this.) 😛

News Source: Indian Express

Cover Image Sources 1 & 2