My first brush—or puff, as it were—with cannabis in 2013 was, quite honestly, pleasant. It was bonding, slightly rebellious, and shared with friends who remain close today. Yet personal nostalgia aside, cannabis in India at that time wasn't exactly benign. Beneath our carefree experimentation lay a shadowy, largely informal market—risky transactions, questionable quality, and dangerous contaminants. As detailed vividly by Vice, ‘spiked weed’ often included shoe polish, anxiety pills, detergent powder, and even ground glass. Such risks highlighted the urgent need for clearer regulations and consumer protections—not to mention some caution on the part of millennial college students hustling dope for a quick buck and some social clout.
Historically, cannabis in India was openly celebrated as ‘bhang’ during festivals yet simultaneously demonised under colonial-era laws. This duality persisted into the 2010s, when vague provisions under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) of 1985 created contradictions as cannabis entrepreneurs began to bud across Indian cities. As early-stage entrepreneur Ekagra Tripathi notes, "People have been selling bhang very much legally, but CBD needs a prescription." The industry languished in a grey area, ripe for exploitation and confusion.
CBD’s Current Players
Boheco is the elder statesman in India’s legal cannabis space. Founded in 2013—long before CBD entered mainstream wellness vocabulary—it has managed to raise ₹86.3 crore in funding, backed by names like Arphi, AngelList, and Ginni Global. It also carries the 'safe route' badge in how it frames its products: all Ayurvedic, all above board. That makes sense, given how tenuous the legal framework is. The reason you can buy a cannabis product in India today is because it’s legally an Ayurvedic medicine. And many companies proudly flaunt their Ministry of AYUSH affiliation on their web-stores; it's an almost-funny fact, given the tired struggles of cannabis advocacy groups to legitimise the well-documented benefits of their favourite plant—all while AYUSH regularly promotes causes that can be described, at best, as pseudoscience.
But it’s not all red tape and government involvement. There’s also a worrying lack of rigour across the board. Entrepreneurs like Richa Jaggi and Ekagra Tripathi are tackling it in different ways—but both agree that India’s cannabis moment needs to mature fast.
Jaggi came into this world not via startup spreadsheets, but grief. Her dog, Champ, was dying of an aggressive cancer that left the poor pup in agony for months on end. “I illegally smuggled [CBD] from Amsterdam. At least that’s what I thought I have to do. I was willing to go to jail for my dog,” she tells me. That act of desperation led to the birth of Awshad, which now touts itself as a cannabis wellness brand rooted in medical accountability; for dogs and their owners.
And you can see it. She hand-picks her doctors. Runs mock calls to test them. Offers full discretion to override patient prescriptions when the situation calls for it. “I give them full authority to reduce the strength and return the product,” she says, aware that many CBD buyers just want the strongest thing available, regardless of what their body needs. This is rare in India’s CBD space, which mostly leans into the fun, frictionless vibes of Instagram therapy. Awshad, by contrast, feels like the adult in the room. “Doctors can override what the consumer wants,” says Jaggi. “If they believe the lower strength is better for the patient, I give them full authority to change the prescription and even return the balance.”
Then there’s Ekagra, who’s working on a pain-relief topical and has a clearer view of the behind-the-scenes mess. “When these doctors are talking to you, they’re only asking about the very upper layer of symptoms,” he says. He’s not anti-CBD. He’s anti-laziness. “CBD might help, but did you solve the core problem? Maybe not.” In a market where product formats vary wildly, and strain-specific information is scarce, treating cannabis as a one-size-fits-all solution is not just irresponsible—it’s unethical.
Both entrepreneurs agree that prescriptions are a chokepoint. It’s a double-edged sword: essential for credibility, but also a deterrent in a convenience-first economy. A recent Mint report confirms this—many users are surprised to learn medical cannabis is even legal, and balk at the need for a consultation. This may be true for some patients, given that product strength is a spectrum, but the necessity is real: side effects like insomnia, fatigue, and crucially, medication interaction are very much on the cards.
Building A Mature Market
Ekagra’s also grappling with regulation the hard way. “For hemp farmers, if the THC content is over 0.3%, they actually burn everything down,” he says, describing how farmers and small manufacturers risk total crop loss if their product crosses this razor-thin threshold. “They’ll literally incinerate the entire batch.” The margin for error is so narrow that even drying time or harvest climate can throw things off. Navigating this landscape requires near-military precision—and Ekagra, whose in-house capabilities are limited, relies on external labs and R&D partners to maintain compliance.
But outsourcing isn’t about cutting corners; it’s part of a broader philosophy of formulation-first thinking. “Formulation is a gap,” he insists. “Everyone just gives oil and lets the people judge for the efficacy of the product. I want to change that.” For him, clarity isn’t just desirable—it’s non-negotiable. Each product should communicate what it does, how it does it, and why it was made that way. In a market teetering between ancient tradition and modern pseudoscience, formulation becomes both a scientific and ethical responsibility.
All of this is happening against a backdrop of slow but significant policy shifts—and an increasingly vocal demand for reform. Uttarakhand paved the way in 2018 by legalising hemp cultivation, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. In 2021, the FSSAI standardised hemp seed oil and related food products, creating a clearer framework for nutraceutical use. But progress has been piecemeal. As of 2025, there is no central cannabis policy; instead, state-level approvals and wildly varying interpretations of the NDPS Act continue to muddy the waters.
Meanwhile, there are signs of movement in courtrooms and regulatory offices. A 2022 public interest litigation filed in the Delhi High Court sought to decriminalise the use of cannabis, arguing that the NDPS Act’s provisions on ‘ganja’ contradict the legal status of bhang. While the case has yet to result in concrete reform, it’s indicative of a growing legal pressure to modernise India’s outdated drug laws. The Ministry of AYUSH, too, continues to expand its licensing for medical cannabis, but the framework is still rooted in Ayurvedic categorisation rather than pharmacological science.
Stigma, however, remains stubborn. “The biggest challenge is limited awareness about CBD’s benefits,” says Boheco’s Yash Kotak. “There’s still a perception that it’s addictive.” This fear, coupled with confusion over legality, means that most consumers either shy away or approach cannabis products like contraband. And yet, the market keeps growing. Analysts expect India’s hemp sector alone to cross ₹2,500 crore by 2030. But that figure will mean little if regulatory clarity, medical accountability, and social education don’t keep pace.
Meanwhile, consumer demand is evolving. The pandemic turned many people into their own wellness consultants—spending on yoga mats, mushroom supplements, and yes, CBD. “If not now, then when?” became Richa’s quiet war cry, as she launched Awshad during Delhi’s lockdown. Gummies were an instant hit—digestible in every sense of the word and a clear stroke of inspiration from Western cannabis markets. She’s now looking at mushroom stacks; Ekagra, meanwhile, is eyeing R&D-led pain relief topical solutions in a country where 19.1% of the adult population suffers from chronic pain.
What’s clear is this: India’s cannabis future won’t be built on hype. Not anymore. The hype got us here, sure—but what will take it forward is depth, diligence, and a healthy dose of responsibility.
