China is on the move. A true global economic powerhouse, it supplies the world with CBD, but is toughening the treatment of those who consume cannabis within its borders. A position unheard of anywhere else in the world. Here’s a look at the link between Mao’s country and Bob’s plant.
Cannabis has been banned in China since 1985. This decision was taken by the Communist government 9 years after the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. Like their Russian neighbors, the ban was introduced primarily to control the population, particularly young people.Drugs were seen as a source of incivility and chaos.
This was despite the country’s long history with the plant. Going back in time, the green plant was used by Taoist monks for “purifying” rituals as early as the 4th century, well aware of its psychotropic effects, they explain that it can be used to commune with the immortals (the 8 Taoist deities). A sort of “replacement” solution by monks for those who can’t get to the mountains
In fact, China is the country with the oldest reference to cannabis in history.
Medical texts use the term “ma”, equivalent to bitter in Mandarin (2700 BC) to describe it. For many centuries, hemp was used in China for textiles, paper and traditional medicine.
In 1998, hemp fields in Yunnan province, the largest agricultural region for the plant, were cleared by state forces. This crackdown is due to the slackening of growers’ activities over the past two years. Two provinces will now be able to apply to the State for exceptional authorization to continue working in hemp fields and to grow cannabis plants, albeit with a very low THC concentration.
Since then, Heilongjiang and Yunnan provinces have produced 13 tonnes of Cannabis in 2019 (most used for textiles).
While consumption of the product is formally prohibited, export is a priority for the government, which is taking a close interest in the market’s economic potential. One of China’s largest CBD producers, Pan Zongbing, set up in the Yunnan region in 2011. After a long set-up period (since they had to start from scratch), Pan’s two plants now produce 4 tonnes of CBD a year (worth over $20 million). The vast majority of its products are then shipped to the USA and Canada. Pan’s ambition is to open a third plant and quadruple production to 17 tonnes a year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXbVnxevGJM
A growing number of Chinese users are promoting the medical benefits of CBD, which they order from American and European sites. This exposure is largely due to open borders. Young Chinese traveling abroad are “corrupted” by the Westerners they frequent, and fail to perceive the “dangers” of Cannabis. This is the official message of prevention.
While it’s impossible to authorize Cannabis as such, Business Insider and the Wall Street Journal are talking about a possible opening up of the “wellness market” so dear to the hearts of young working people. After all, with no psychotropic effects, the substance poses no threat and is undeniably part of China’s medical heritage.
Mike Teeve
