Inside India's Unregulated Cannabis Market: A 13-Year User's Call for Safety Testing | Research

The takeaway

Drawing on 13 years of firsthand experience in India's prohibited cannabis ecosystem, a researcher argues that the real health risks come not from cannabinoids themselves but from unpredictable potency, pesticide contamination, and adulteration in unregulated products.

Harm reduction advocates; cannabis policy reformers; researchers studying unregulated drug markets; people in prohibition countries concerned about product safety

13 years of firsthand experience in India's cannabis market

What the researchers found

The author argues that clinical cannabis research using purified compounds fails to capture the realities of illicit markets where products like Ganja and Charas have unpredictable potency, pesticide contamination, and adulteration. Personal consumption patterns reveal that inconsistent products make precise dosing impossible and that standard clinical outcome measures miss user-reported effects like cognitive enhancement.

Why it matters

Most cannabis research uses standardized pharmaceutical-grade products, creating a blind spot about what people actually consume in unregulated markets. In countries like India where cannabis remains prohibited, users face unknown risks from contamination and adulteration that have nothing to do with cannabis itself.

The numbers in context

13 years of firsthand experience; 4 proposed research priorities; examines Ganja and Charas products specifically

How the study worked

Perspective article informed by 13 years of personal experience within India's prohibited cannabis ecosystem. Not a systematic study but a call for research priorities including chemical analysis of illicit products, qualitative user research, user-centered outcome measures, and transition from prohibition to regulation.

What this study cannot tell us

Perspective article based on personal experience, not systematic research. Single-author viewpoint from one region of India. Proposed research agenda has not been implemented. Potential bias from the author's position as a long-term user.

How to read the evidence

Perspective article based on personal experience. Offers valuable insider knowledge but is not systematic research.

When this study was published

Published in 2025.

The bigger picture

This perspective highlights a fundamental gap in global cannabis research: the disconnect between controlled clinical settings and the reality of illicit markets used by millions. It argues that regulation, not prohibition, is the most effective public health intervention for consumer safety.

Questions still open

What contaminants are actually present in India's illicit cannabis supply? How would user-centered outcome measures differ from standard clinical endpoints? Could India's traditional cannabis culture inform harm-reduction approaches?

Common questions

What are Ganja and Charas?

Ganja refers to cannabis flower and Charas is hand-rubbed cannabis resin (similar to hashish), both traditional forms consumed in India. In the unregulated market, both can vary widely in potency and may contain pesticides or adulterants.

What does the author propose?

Four priorities: chemical analysis of illicit products, qualitative research with actual users, development of user-centered outcome measures, and a shift from prohibition to regulation as the most effective safety intervention.

Read the original research

A user-informed perspective of the toxicological data gap in India's cannabis landscape.

Frontiers in toxicology, 7, 1734313

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Riyaz, Muzafar. (2025). A user-informed perspective of the toxicological data gap in India's cannabis landscape.. Frontiers in toxicology, 7, 1734313. https://doi.org/10.3389/ftox.2025.1734313