Nepal lawmakers seek to legalize growing, using marijuana

By Associated Press Television News, Republic World

Ruling party lawmakers have proposed legalizing marijuana in Nepal, where it has been used for generations and was famed during the counterculture '60s.Forty-six members of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal filed the proposal in Parliament to legalize the production and use of marijuana, party lawmaker Birod Khatiwada said Monday.

He said the Himalayan country's mountainous terrain is suitable for the crop and allowing farmers to grow it would greatly benefit those who are impoverished.

“Legalizing marijuana will help the poor farmers and since most of the Western world, which was reason for making it illegal in the first place, have already ended the prohibition, Nepal should also lift the ban,” Khatiwada said.