High and dry: Pakistan's penchant for hash
Anything that causes intoxication or bodily harm is strictly forbidden in Islam
The News (Pakistan)
Monday, December 18, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Many Pakistanis are surprisingly open to using cannabis, with the spongy, black hash made from marijuana grown in the country’s tribal belt and neighbouring Afghanistan the preferred variant of the drug. Whereas alcohol is explicitly forbidden in Islamic scripture, hash seemingly straddles a theological gray zone, which could explain its popularity in the country. People have been smoking hash on the subcontinent for centuries. It predates the arrival of Islam in the region, with reference to cannabis appearing in the sacred Hindu Atharva Veda text describing its medicinal and ritual uses. “We know that it is haram but it’s an intoxication that doesn’t harm anyone else.”
