Vintage Photos Reveal Open Ganja Shops, Legal Drug Use in 60s-70s India, Nepal

• Viral photos from the 1960s and 70s show cannabis and opium shops operating openly under government licenses in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
• People openly consumed drugs outside shops, similar to modern liquor stores, with everything being legal and taxed.
• Freak Street in Kathmandu, Nepal, was a hippie hub with 'Government Approved' shops like the 'Central Hashish Store' until 1973.
• In India, licensed ganja, bhang, and opium shops existed since colonial times, with the 1894 Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report noting bhang's cultural use.
• The US 'War on Drugs' led to bans in Nepal (1973) and India (NDPS Act 1985), criminalizing farmers and fueling the black market, sparking debate on past legal regulation.