India: The Village Where Cannabis Is the Only Livelihood

For hundreds of years, the tiny village of Malana was just a speck lost amid the grandiose mountains of the Indian Himalayas.

Nestled high in the higher reaches of the lush Kullu Valley, Malana used to be a four-day hike from the nearest road. Its laws, tradition says, were laid down by the village god Jamlu. People elected their own parliament and disputes were settled in their own court. Villagers would run in terror if an outsider showed up. 

But Malana is hidden no more. For centuries, the villagers have been growing the plant that has made Malana one of the world's top stoner destinations, and a battleground —at least symbolically — for India's haphazard fight against "charas," the black and sticky hashish that has made the village famous. 

In 1985, the Indian government gave in to international pressure and banned the production and consumption of cannabis. Possession of a...

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