Uday Chopra bats for legalising marijuana on Twitter; actor gets trolled, Mumbai Police issues word of caution

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police on Saturday reminded Bollywood actor Uday Chopra that marijuana is a banned commodity in India when the “Dhoom” actor batted for its legalisation. Chopra tweeted on Friday that marijuana, also known as cannabis, should be legalised as it is “part of Indian culture” and also has “medical benefits”. “I feel India should legalise marijuana. Firstly, it is part of our culture. Secondly, I think if legalised and taxed, it can be a huge revenue source. Not to mention that it will remove the criminal element associated with it. Plus and most importantly, it has a lot of medical benefits,” the actor said through his Twitter handle @udaychopra. The tweet not only invited trolling, but also a response from the city police. [caption id=“attachment_5191851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Bollywood actor Uday Chopra. CNN-News18[/caption] “Sir, as a citizen of India, you are privileged to express your view on a public platform. Be mindful, as of now consumption, possession and transportation of marijuana invites harsh punishment as per provisions of Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985. Spread the word,” said @MumbaiPolice. By Saturday afternoon, Chopra’s post had over 300 retweets, a thousand ’likes’ and many comments, several of them countering his view or using memes to ridicule it. “People here can’t use WhatsApp correctly and you are talking about marijuana…,” said one tweet. But the actor stuck to his guns. “The benefits are too many to list. A brief Google search will educate you, I am sure. Anyway, it is better than being schooled by people like me who have no work,” he said. “I do not use it, I just really think it is a wise move, given our history with the (cannabis) plant,” he said in another tweet. Twitter user @IshataYadav said, “Easy to you to say when you don’t have to work for living. Imagine a stoned workforce.” To which Chopra replied, “So your argument is ‘Don’t make it legal because everyone will be stoned.’ Wonder why the same reasoning didn’t stop people from legalising alcohol #Flawed.”