Shimla, July 13 -- Himachal government will soon frame rules for implementation of legal cultivation of cannabis (hemp) for medicinal and industrial purposes and the process to grant licenses for medicinal and industrial hemp farming will begin in phases, said revenue, horticulture and tribal development minister Jagat Singh Negi.

Negi was in Shimla, speaking a day after a workshop and exhibition on innovative industrial and medicinal hemp-based products at the historic Gaiety Theatre. The seminar, which focused on the medicinal and industrial use of hemp, showcased dozens of products made from cannabis including food items and pharmaceutical extracts by stakeholders from Himachal and other states. The minister, who inaugurated the event...