Delhi, India is Third-Highest Cannabis-Consuming City in the World

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]ccording to a recent study, Delhi, a city and territory of India, is the third-highest cannabis-consuming city in the world. Mumbai also made the top 10 list, checking in at number six in the world.

German data firm ABCD studied cannabis use, retail and prevalence in 120 cities across the world for their study, the 2018 Cannabis Price Index, and found Delhi consumed more than 38 tons of cannabis in 2018, placing it behind New York and Karachi, Pakistan, which are first and second on the list, respectively. Los Angeles came in at fourth on the list with 36 tons consumed last year. The number in Los Angeles could be lower due to the prevalence of illegal dispensaries in California.

Cannabis is only partially legal in India, with all products aside from the plant itself regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychoactive Substances Act of 1985. Delhi is home to some of the most affordable cannabis in the world, with an average price of $4.38 USD per gram. Cannabis is a little bit more expensive in Mumbai, with the average price being $5.32. Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis in the world, with the average price per gram of cannabis being $32.66 USD.

ABCD supports global legalization of cannabis and included an estimate on the tax revenue a city could collect if cannabis was taxed like cigarettes. The study estimated Delhi could see up to an additional $101.2 million USD to its annual tax revenue and Mumbai could see almost $90 million USD in additional revenue.

“By removing the criminal element from marijuana, governments will then [be] able to more safely regulate production, take away power from underground gangs, and as we’ve shown in this study, generate huge tax revenues,” said Uri Zeevi, CMO at Seedo.

The Indian government recently announced that they will allow cannabis research for the first time and let researchers examine the substances in the plant.