KOTTAYAM: The tribal people in Idukki are using ganja as painkillers. Though there’s no large scale cultivation in the district, the excise department sources say they grow a few plants at home for this purpose.
“We have reliably learnt that many of them are growing the saplings for mostly treatment purposes,” an official told DC.
Dr Anumodh, a veterinary doctor working in the Pampadumchola range of Idukki, said the tribal population in the Vattavada region used to treat themselves for minor injuries and the cannabis could have come handy.
“In most cases they will not go to a hospital for treatment. The ganja is said to have therapeutic qualities and the tribal population may have been using it,” he told DC.
Excise sources in Idukki district confirm this. Deputy commissioner K. V. Lalkumar said they had seized ganja saplings from a tribal hamlet in Peerumedu a few months back.
“The case is right now in the court. We have been informed that a few plants were grown in their compounds. We have arrested the accused and we are determined not to allow its use,” he said.
