[2] A 2019 study conducted by the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences reported that about 7.2 million Indians had consumed cannabis within the past year.

[3] The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's "Magnitude of Substance Use in India 2019" survey found that 2.83% of Indians aged 10–75 years (or 31 million people) were current users of cannabis products.

[7] According to Gerrit Jan Meulenbeld and Dominik Wujastyk, Chikitsa-sara-sangraha (c. late 11th century) by Vangasena is the earliest extant Indian text that features an uncontested mention of cannabis.

Sharngadhara Samhita (13th century) also gives medicinal uses of cannabis, and along with ahiphena (opium poppy), mentions it as one of the drugs which act very quickly in the body.

Garcia de Orta, a botanist and doctor, wrote about the uses of cannabis in his 1534 work Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs and Medicinal Matters of India and of a Few Fruits.

The report's findings stated: Viewing the subject generally, it may be added that the moderate use of these drugs is the rule, and that the excessive use is comparatively exceptional.

It has been the most striking feature in this inquiry to find how little the effects of hemp drugs have obtruded themselves on observation.As bhang, cannabis is still popular in India.

[26] In June 2016 Pillares EXIM LLP based out of Vapi, Gujarat took a step towards cannabis legalization by launching HERBBOX as a one stop shop for smoking accessories in India.

[29] Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh informed the State Assembly on 21 February 2020 that his government was considering legalising the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes.

The International Narcotics Control Board's 2019 annual report noted that "India is among those countries worldwide with the greatest extent of illicit cannabis cultivation and production.

The National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances recognizes cannabis as a source of biomass, fiber, and high-value oil.

According to Section 20 of the NDPS Act, holding a small quantity of weed can land you in jail for rigorous imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of Rs.

[40][25] In Maharashtra, Section 66(1)(b) of the Bombay Prohibition (BP) Act, 1949, bans manufacture, possession and consumption of bhang and bhang-containing substances without a license.

Gujarat's Minister of State for Home and Prohibition, Pradipsinh Jadeja, explained, "Bhang is consumed only as prasad of Lord Shiva.

Hence, keeping in view the sentiments of public at large, the government has decided to exempt bhang from the ambit of Gujarat Prohibition Amendment Act.

[44] In March 2015, Lok Sabha MP for Dhenkanal Tathagata Satpathy stated on a Reddit AMA that he supported the legalisation of cannabis, and also admitted to having consumed the drug on several occasions when he was in college.

[45][46][47] On 2 November 2016, Lok Sabha MP Dharamvir Gandhi announced that he had received clearance from Parliament to table a Private Member's Bill seeking to amend the NDPS Act to allow for the legalised, regulated, and medically supervised supply of "non-synthetic" intoxicants including cannabis and opium.

[48] In July 2017, Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi suggested the legalization of medical marijuana on the grounds that it would reduce drug abuse and aid cancer patients at the second meeting of the group of ministers to examine the draft Cabinet note for the National Drug Demand Reduction Policy.

[54] In July 2019, the Delhi High Court agreed to hear a petition, filed by the Great Legalisation Movement Trust, challenging the ban on cannabis.

The public interest litigation argues that grouping cannabis with other chemical drugs under the NDPS Act is "arbitrary, unscientific and unreasonable".

[56] The Indian Express published an editorial on 7 December 2020 supporting the legalisation of cannabis, and calling for it to be regulated and taxed like alcohol and tobacco products.

In March 2021, The State Government of Tripura announced it would form an expert panel to examine the viability of legalizing cannabis cultivation.

Historically, Hindi films have portrayed cannabis use negatively depicting the drug as being associated with an upper class hippie culture or as an intoxicating substance used by criminals.

Films such as Shaitan (2011), Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012), Kapoor & Sons and The Blueberry Hunt (2016) feature urban middle-class protagonists using cannabis as form of relaxation.