Recreational drug tourism refers to the travel that is done for getting drugs for recreational use that are unavailable, extremely expensive, or illegal in the user’s region.
Key Points
- Called a drug tourist, the person may cross a national border or a state border to obtain the required drug, due to the relaxation in price or legal regulations.
- Several hot spots notorious for Drug tourism are found across many countries around the world.
- In India, the Malana Valley in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, the most sought-after form of hashish across the globe, called the Malana Cream grows naturally and is also illegally cultivated.
- In Africa, northern Morocco is a drug tourism attraction because of hashish production.
- Some other drug tourists’ attractions across the world are- the Netherlands, North America, Mexico, Colombia, etc.
What is Malana Cream?
It is charas or hashish from Malana Valley in Himachal Pradesh. It is the resin obtained from a species of the cannabis plant growing in the valley. The cannabis plant has several chemical compounds called cannabinoids. The chemical compounds of the plant also include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that produces great sensation.
The cannabis plant with low THC is used for industrial purposes. The plants with a high level of cannabinoid (CBD) are used for medicinal purposes. It is sold for Rs 1500 to Rs 8000 per 10 gm in India and is also smuggled outside the country. The prices are generally high outside India.
Malana Valley
It is a remote village in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh having a population of 2,350. Despite the drug ban in India, it is grown in the region because of some reasons like its location, natural occurrence of the plant, etc. It is an isolated area so remains away from the eyes of the people, however, now the village has a road at a distance of 4km after the year 2007. Before this, people had to trek 26 km to reach the village.
The cannabis plant grows naturally in the region, so complete elimination is not possible.
