Tens of thousands gather for Hindu festival at Nepal temple, with many lighting up marijuana joints

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees gathered at a revered temple in Nepal's capital on Wednesday to celebrate one of the country's biggest religious festivals.

In the Bankali forests near Pashupati, the temple of the Hindu god Shiva, holy men and devotees puffed on cannabis smoke, a practice that is normally illegal but is permitted during the Shivaratri festival.

Devotees have been praying and dancing to religious songs at the temple, which is one of the most important for Hindus around the world. About 81% of Nepal's population is Hindu. Many Hindus from neighboring India also traveled to Kathmandu for the festival.

A key part of Shivaratri is the freedom to smoke marijuana, an act that is normally punishable by prison sentences of up to a month for users and 10 years for traffickers.

The forest area across the Bagmati river from the temple was filled with marijuana-smoking Hindu holy men, who camp there for days during the festival. Young Nepalese men and some women were also partaking in the smoke.

“Weed smoking should be made legal but with some limits and boundaries,” said Abhishek Pathak, who was among those smoking cannabis. “There are multiple uses of marijuana and I really hope in the future that the use of marijuana will be totally legalized.”

“Once it is legalized, the benefits would be not just for the individuals but for the entire country,” he said.

Lawmakers and supporters have made efforts to decriminalize marijuana in Nepal. A petition was filed in January 2020 to legalize the farming and use of marijuana, but progress since then has stalled.

"Once marijuana is legalized in the country, there will be so many opportunities that it could open up like in medical use," said Akash Rimal, a festival attendee.

Nepal was famous for marijuana and other narcotics in the 1960s, when hippies made their way to the Himalayan nation. Shops and tea houses used to advertise and sell it legally. However, marijuana was outlawed in 1976.

Hundreds of police officers patrolled the area but were not stopping the smokers from puffing on joints during the festival.