What is special about Mallana Cream, Himachal’s unique cannabis product?

Context

• The Narcotics Control Bureau has seized the contraband ‘Malana Cream’.

What is Malana Cream?

• It is the charas or hash or hashish which comes from the Malana Valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
• Charas, called bhang in Himachal, is the resin obtained from a species or strain of the cannabis plant, which grows naturally in the valley and is also cultivated illegally.
• The valley has a single village, Malana, and the hash resin produced there is generally more ‘creamy’, or clay-like, as compared to that produced in other parts of the state.

How it is unique?

• The cannabis plant has several chemical compounds called cannabinoids, among which tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive constituent which produces the high sensation.
• Strains of the plant with low levels of THC are used for industrial and non-drug purposes such as making ropes, paper, textiles, etc.
• Plants with a high level of another cannabinoid called CBD (cannabidiol) are used for medicinal purposes.