Cannabis plantations around the Nepalese Himalayas

Here is a short video of some natural plantations of Cannabis around the Nepalese Himalayas. You can find these al around from Besisahar to Chame, if you do the Long Annapurna Circuit. Although I'm not into it, I learnt a lot from locals and trekkers alike, on how they take the flowers and patiently and diligently they rub them in their palm for a long time, until they get a sticky resin; they they add more flowers, and keep rubbing. The locals pass it among themselves so everybody rubs for a while. That's how they get the best out of it. It's funny, because where I come from it's almost a mortal sin to have one of these, and here you can see kilometers of them growing in the wild. Even in the guesthouses where we say, they are inside among the bushes that you see beside the dining rooms or by the kitchen.

I learned that there are three different qualities of marihuana in Katmandu, the one called "Cristal" being the highest quality. One kilogram of this stuff costs to the locals the equivalent to USD 65, which is ridiculously low.

In the Pashupatinath Temple in Katmandu, the main Hindu temple in Nepal, there are many Sadhus (Hindu holy renunciants, considered saints) living inside many of the smaller shrines scattered around, and they use to share a pipe of this stuff together with their devotees. I've been in there and it's funny to see these hermits who renounce alcohol, sex, money, clothes, meat, and many other worldly things, but they smoke marihuana on a daily basis as a spiritual tool for being in a permanent state of ecstasies and meditation. Without judging, I spent some of the most interesting time together with these Sadhus in Katmandu. They are friendly and very open if you are open too and want something more than just take a picture and leave.

http://youtu.be/z3apEteJArY