A provincial government in Nepal has legalized farming and use of marijuana for medical purposes

ByBINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- A provincial government in Nepal has legalized farming and use of marijuana for medical use despite a national ban.

The bill went into effect Monday after it was endorsed by the chief of Gandaki province and allows the farming and medical use of cannabis, said Prabin Poudyal, spokesman for the office of the Chief of Gandaki Province.

Farmers will have to get official permission from the provincial authority and are to be closely monitored.

The provincial law comes despite a national ban on farming, possession and use of marijuana. Anyone possessing marijuana for personal use can be jailed for a month, while distribution and sales are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment depending on the amount seized.

Gandaki, one of the Himalayan country's seven provinces, is home to popular mountains and hiking trails and the resort city of Pokhara.

Cannabis is native to Nepal and is widely used during festivals, and activists in Nepal have been trying to get the government to change the law to allow it.

Marijuana was once widely embedded in the country's culture and religion.

But in the late 1970s, the country followed other nations in outlawing marijuana, and chased away the hippies who had flocked to the country.

During the annual Shivaratri festival in Nepal in spring, devotees freely smoke joints at the temples of the revered Hindu god Shiva. The authorities usually allow the use during the festival.