The story · written by grok-4.7,
On 17 April 1959 West Pakistan published rules under which a licensed druggist could sell medicinal hemp only as medicine.[1] A doctor could keep three ounces for use in the practice, and a patient could keep what that druggist had sold for medicine.[1] The Governor had made the rules on 21 March 1959.[1]
The licence that was already there
From 1 February 1931 no one could import or export hemp, or make an extract or tincture of it, without a licence. Bhang, siddhi, ganja and charas stayed intoxicating drugs under the Punjab excise law, and Baluchistan still required a licence to grow a hemp plant. The 1959 rules are West Pakistan’s rules for the medicinal side of that same Act. The heading dates the notification 21 March 1959 and the West Pakistan Gazette 17 April 1959.[1]
Three ounces, and only as medicine
| Who | Medicinal hemp |
|---|---|
| Licensed druggist | May sell it only as medicine, and only up to the quantity on the licence |
| Doctor | Three ounces, for use in the practice and not for sale |
| Patient | The quantity a licensed druggist sold for medicine |
The collector could allow a doctor more than three ounces.[1] “Use in his practice” meant giving the drug directly, in an injection, an operation, or another emergency, by the doctor or in the doctor’s presence. Any other issue from the dispensary counted as a sale.[1] The doctor had to buy from a licensed chemist or druggist and keep a register with a separate part for extracts or tinctures of Indian hemp.[1] The drugs were to be kept under lock and key. A theft was to be reported at once to the nearest excise or police official, and the records kept for at least two years.[1]
Import of medicinal hemp needed a permit. Export or transport needed a pass, and an export pass required a permit from the collector of the district it was going to.[1] The licence was personal. It ended if the holder died, unless the collector continued it for a legal representative.[1] An officer could refuse a licence and did not have to give reasons.[1] When a licence was cancelled, the holder had to hand the manufactured drugs to the collector.[1]
The licensed shops stayed open
Until 1979 charas and bhang were sold through licensed vendors. These rules did not close those shops. On 9 July 1965 Pakistan joined the Single Convention, which limits cannabis to medical and scientific purposes. The country’s current account of the law is on its profile.
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Pakistan here.
References
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.