Psst... I Drank Marijuana Tea in Kashmir, India

When you think of places where you can find marijuana-based products, India is probably not the first country that comes to mind.

And yet, when I was camping in a mountainous region in Kashmir, our host casually pulled out a few joints and shared them among the group, like this was the most normal thing in the world.

Unfortunately for me, no matter how many times I’ve tried, I never quite learned how to smoke properly. So the experience was largely wasted on me.

Seeing this, our mountain guide, Riyaz, decided to take matters into his own hands.

He wandered off and came back a short while later holding a bunch of leaves, looking very pleased with himself. Apparently, the plan was to make marijuana tea, or as the locals called it — “mountain tea” or “green medicine”.

What is marijuana tea?

Marijuana tea (also known as cannabis tea, weed tea, pot tea, ganja tea, or cannabis decoction) is exactly what it sounds like: tea made by steeping parts of the cannabis plant in water.

Cannabis has a long history as an herbal remedy and has been used by healers in different parts of the world to relieve symptoms of various ailments. Outside of medical use, it’s also consumed recreationally for its psychoactive effects and used in certain spiritual traditions.

Drinking marijuana tea is far less common than smoking or consuming edibles, but when prepared properly, it can produce similar physical and mental effects. The strength of the tea depends on several factors, including how much cannabis is used and how it’s prepared.

Is marijuana legal in India?

No, drugs (including marijuana) are illegal across India. But then again, India can be very… confusing.

For instance, in Jaisalmer, there are government-authorized shops selling cannabis smoothies. While marijuana remains officially illegal nationwide, in practice, the government often seems to turn a blind eye to its consumption in certain regions, but that doesn’t mean it’s legal, or risk-free.

*This article is not meant to encourage drug use or breaking the law. Please refer to the disclaimer at the bottom of this page.

My experience with the "mountain tea" in India

In the mountainous region of Kashmir, wild cannabis plants grow abundantly on the roadside — so abundantly, in fact, that you can smell them from the car as you drive past.

After Riyaz returned with the small bunch of leaves, we all crowded around the gas stove, ready to see what his “mountain tea” could do.

We helped him separate the leaves from the stems, carefully picking them apart and putting them in a large pot.

Riyaz poured in the water and set it to boil, and we all leaned in like spectators watching a magic trick. Tiny bubbles began to appear and the liquid slowly darkened into an intense yellow.

After a few minutes, Riyaz decided it wasn’t quite dark enough and tossed in more leaves, nodding at us with a confident grin. I was lowkey nervous, but also a little excited to see how potent this was going to be. This was definitely not my average camping evening!

I think we left it to boil for another 5 – 10 minutes. It felt a lot longer though, I’m not sure — time gets distorted when you’re in the mountains.

When Riyaz finally announced that the tea was ready, it was poured into small cups and handed around. We sipped eagerly, ready for a fun, cozy evening.

Some of us wandered to the nearby stream and tried fishing, while Riyaz and a few villagers moved on to prep dinner.

I went back for a second cup, then a third. Based on my experience with space brownies, it would take at least 30 – 40 minutes for me to feel anything.

So, I waited the whole evening, all the while checking myself for the tiniest hint of a buzz. But there was nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada.

What I didn’t know at the time — and only realized later after reading up on it — is that THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, is fat-soluble, not water-soluble.

Which means that boiling leaves in plain water only extracts a tiny fraction of the compound. You’re supposed to add butter or milk with a high fat content to release the THC properly.

When brewed correctly, marijuana tea is said to have quite a strong effect. But the only effect I had that day was a rapidly filling bladder — which is not fun when your bathroom is basically a patch of mountain underbrush.

A few sensible notes

Even though I personally felt no effect at all, I should emphasize that:

Reactions to cannabis vary widely from person to person
Edible forms can be unpredictable
Being in a remote area is not the place to test your limits
Anything illegal carries real risks, regardless of how “normal” it may seem locally

And of course, drugs, including marijuana, are illegal in India. Please refer to the disclaimer at the bottom of this page.

Final thoughts

To this day, I’m not entirely sure if that’s genuinely how the mountain people prepare their “green medicine,” or if Riyaz was, shall we say, slightly less of an expert than he confidently made himself out to be.

But the night was far from over. And in hindsight, I’m actually glad that I was stone-cold sober for what happened next. Let’s just say it involved the mountain, the dark, and an encounter that was significantly more effective at raising my heart rate than any tea could ever be. You can read about it here.

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