Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, on Monday reviewed the progress of the Cannabis Medicinal Research Project at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, with a particular focus on its potential medical applications.
Cannabis is sought to be developed as export-quality painkillers, the Minister said, sending out a message that a substance infamous for drug addiction could also bring relief to mankind. Describing the initiative as India’s first-of-its-kind cannabis research project, he said it is expected to pave the way for export-quality medicines for neuropathies, cancer, epilepsy and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).
He said the project is being undertaken through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model with the participation of a French company, and is aimed exclusively at exploring the medicinal and life-science applications of cannabis. Appropriate regulatory provisions, he added, ensure that cultivation and use are strictly for scientific research and medical purposes. Permission for cannabis cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir had been secured after sustained efforts, he noted.
Dr Singh said the project reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach, bringing together the Government of India, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and private-sector partners. He called it a Whole-of-Nation initiative meant to ensure that the benefits of research reach society at large. The project, he said, holds considerable economic and medicinal potential and could strengthen India’s position in global research and in the development of high-quality medicines for international markets.
The project is now moving towards pre-clinical trials, for which engagement has been established with Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, one of India’s leading cancer institutions. After the pre-clinical studies and regulatory processes are completed, the project would move towards drug production.
Earlier, Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Director of CSIR-IIIM and CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, briefed the Minister on the institute’s scientific work and progress in identifying potential cannabis-based drug candidates. He said the institute had applied to the J&K Excise Department for permission for GMP-compliant manufacturing and transportation of cannabis material exclusively for scientific purposes. That permission is required to produce research material for mandatory pre-clinical studies and to advance promising candidates towards clinical evaluation.
The review was attended by Babila Rakwal, Commissioner Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, J&K, and Vaibhav Kohli, Commissioner, Excise, J&K, along with scientists and senior officers of the departments concerned and CSIR-IIIM.
The project received permission from the J&K Government in 2017 for scientific cultivation and research and is among the pioneering initiatives in the country to examine cannabis’s medicinal properties. CSIR-IIIM has set up protected cultivation facilities and built a repository of more than 500 cannabis accessions to support research and identify varieties with therapeutic potential.
