When Samisht Sehgal’s grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer, the family soon realised that alongside treatment came a range of other challenges. Medications and therapies often affected how she ate, slept and coped physically and emotionally.
"We just wanted to improve her quality of life, help her eat, sleep and feel a little happier each day. The usual options were opioids or comfort measures, but friends and doctors in the US suggested medical cannabis," Sehgal recalls.
It was advice that surprised him. Even more shocking was how hard it was to find the medicine.
At the time, Sehgal was a young consultant at Deloitte. Everything he found had to be imported. There was nothing being made in India. For a country with a long history of plant-based medicine and holistic healing, the gap was glaring.
That personal experience planted the seed that would eventually become Qurist, a homegrown medical cannabis company that now sells around 15 products for pain, stress, sleep disorders and even pets.
Sehgal’s journey mirrors a broader shift now underway. He is part of a new generation of entrepreneurs pushing medical cannabis into India’s health mainstream, cautiously, scientifically and firmly within the law.
For a long time, the mainstream barely existed.
Legal ambiguity, social stigma and fear of association with recreational drug use kept most companies and doctors at bay, while patients often struggled on with limited options. That picture is now changing.
Over the past 12 to 18 months, interest in cannabis-based medicine has surged, driven by growing health awareness, curiosity about plant-based alternatives and clearer regulatory interpretation.
"The market has expanded significantly in a very short time," says Yash Kotak, co-founder of Bombay Hemp Company, or Boheco, the country’s oldest cannabis-focused enterprise. "We expect explosive growth over the next two to three years, driven by regulation and consumer acceptance."
Boheco’s product range reflects how wide that interest has become. The company now offers nearly 39 products addressing pain, sleep disorders, stress and anxiety, gastrointestinal issues and even sexual health. These range from tablets and oils to sprays, ointments and mints, alongside over-the-counter products for skin, hair and nutrition.
According to Kotak, the people turning to these products often share a common story. The largest patient groups are those struggling with sleep, chronic pain and anxiety, with cancer patients forming one of the biggest cohorts.
"There’s growing trust in plant-based medicine," he says, "and strong repeat usage once people experience results."
While Sehgal’s work has focused on close collaboration with oncologists and neurologists in Delhi hospitals such as AIIMS, Max and Artemis, others are approaching the space from a different angle.
HempStreet’s Abhishek Mohan, a serial entrepreneur, is using India as an R&D base to develop cannabis-based treatments for specific conditions, including dysmenorrhoea, or severe menstrual pain, aimed at international markets.
"We’re about to launch in the US, are in the approval process in Brazil, and tied up in Thailand," he says.
For Mohan, cannabis is less about lifestyle and more about precision medicine. That thinking extends to his larger ambition of modernising Ayurveda itself.
"We want Ayurveda-origin medicine to become more scientific and closer to pharma," he says.
Set against these ambitions, India’s slow progress becomes clearer when viewed globally. In the United States, medical marijuana began to be legalised state by state from the late 1990s, starting with California in 1996.
Canada introduced a national medical cannabis programme in 2001, long before legalising recreational use in 2018.
Across Europe, countries such as Germany, Italy and the Netherlands approved medical cannabis between the early 2000s and mid-2010s, while the UK allowed specialist prescriptions in 2018.
These steps helped normalise cannabis as a therapeutic option for chronic pain, neurological disorders, anxiety, sleep problems and the side effects of cancer treatment.
In India, progress has followed a narrower legal path. Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, cannabis flowers, known as ganja, and resin, or charas, remain illegal. The seeds, leaves and fibre of the plant, however, are legal, and that is where medical cannabis companies operate.
The medicines themselves rely on two main compounds. CBD, or cannabidiol, does not cause a high, while THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, does. However, only tiny quantities of THC are permitted in medication.
"We do not work with the flower or resin at all," says Kotak. "All our cannabinoids are extracted from leaves. Hemp seeds, meanwhile, are used for nutrition. They are rich in protein, omega-3, omega-6 and vitamin E."
These legal and scientific guardrails have shaped how patients access cannabis-based medicine. Sales today happen both online and offline, with strict oversight. When a customer contacts Qurist online, a doctor calls within 24 hours, assesses symptoms and prescribes accordingly.
Oral medications can only be sold under supervision, as mandated by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
Physical retail is also becoming more visible. Cure By Design has a flagship store in Bengaluru and pop-up stalls in malls where people can learn about cannabis-based products without judgement or jargon.
Boheco runs five stores across major cities, plans to expand to 16 within 18 months, and already exports to South Korea and Brazil.
In India’s emerging medicinal cannabis market, a range of products is available legally from licensed Ayurvedic/AYUSH vendors, each priced according to potency, formulation and cannabinoid content.
Cannabis oils and tinctures, which blend CBD with THC in precise ratios, are among the most common.
Lower-strength oils, ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 mg, typically sell for Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,500, while higher-strength or full-spectrum extracts can cost Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 or more.
These oils are generally taken under the tongue and are used to ease pain, reduce stress, improve sleep and manage anxiety. Higher THC content is often prescribed for more severe chronic pain or insomnia, while higher CBD ratios are marketed for general wellness, inflammation or stress relief.
For patients who prefer convenience or precise dosing, capsules and edibles offer alternatives. Cannabis capsules range from low-dose packs (10–25 mg) priced under Rs 500 to higher-dosage 90-capsule bottles costing Rs 4,500 to Rs 8,100, depending on cannabinoid concentration.
Gummies and other edibles are priced from roughly Rs 1,900 up to Rs 5,700, offering discreet, easy-to-take options for anxiety relief, appetite stimulation or symptom management.
As Sehgal notes, "We’re not expensive because we want higher profit margins. It’s because we source cannabis raw material directly from the Government of India, and you need a lot of plant material to extract enough active compound for one bottle."
He adds that doctors can trust the products because they focus on pharma-grade, medically approved cannabis extracts.
CBD oil is suitable even for athletes and pilots because the psychoactive THC is removed, while stronger formulations with carefully controlled THC content are used for patients needing more intensive pain or sleep management.
One cannabis-based drug is currently the only approved treatment for two rare forms of childhood epilepsy worldwide.
The applications are also expanding beyond human health. Many companies now offer formulations for pets, used to treat arthritis, anxiety and even epilepsy, particularly in ageing animals.
In many ways, this renewed interest is a return to older ideas. Cannabis has long featured in Indian medicine, particularly in Ayurveda. Practitioners have prescribed it for centuries, and modern companies have leaned heavily on those traditions. Ayurvedic doctors, say industry players, are often more open to cannabis-based treatments than allopathic practitioners.
Institutional support has followed cautiously. The AYUSH ministry has quietly aided the sector by encouraging research and standardisation. Still, much of the real progress has come from personal engagement.
Sehgal recalls visiting doctors one by one, listening carefully to their concerns. "Cancer patients were the lowest-hanging fruit," he says. "Pain relief, better appetite, better sleep. Cannabis-based medicines helped where many others fell short."
Despite rapid momentum, medical cannabis in India remains a small industry. Funding is still hard to come by, and many investors remain wary. One notable exception was Ratan Tata, who invested in Boheco early on.
Kotak stresses that legitimacy matters. "We work with banks, pay GST and comply with every regulation. We’re not operating in the shadows. This is legitimate medicine."
That legitimacy is beginning to translate into growth. Qurist’s revenue has doubled, and in some months nearly tripled, over the past year. Similar patterns are emerging across the sector.
For patients worn down by chronic pain, sleepless nights or the side effects of long-term medication, medical cannabis is no longer a fringe idea. It is quietly becoming part of India’s expanding medicine kit, drawing on ancient practice, shaped by modern science and, after years of hesitation, finding its place in everyday health care.