Nepal bans sale of ‘marijuana’ at Hindu festival
March 4th, 2011 - 4:03 pm ICT by ANIKathmandu, March 4 (ANI): Nepal has reportedly banned the sale of marijuana during a popular Hindu festival wherein the male devotees traditionally smoke the drug and share it with young men and women.
About 500,000 devotees had attended the festival on Wednesday at Kathmandu’s Pashupati temple, which is considered the most revered Hindu shrine in Nepal, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Thousands of Indian devotees throng Nepal annually for the festival to mark the end of winter. The highlight is a bonfire at night at which devotees smoke marijuana.
The paper quoted Police Chief Santosh Singh Rathore as saying that his department had patrolled the area and stopped marijuana dealings, but did not prevent the holy men from using the drug.
He also said that police had detained about 50 people, but released them after giving them warnings. (ANI)
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Tags: bonfire, daily telegraph, devotees, highlight, hindu festival, hindu shrine, holy men, kathmandu, marijuana, men and women, nepal, pashupati, police chief, rathore, young men