Bhang enthusiasts can breathe easy, literally. The Delhi police have no device to put the brakes on you.

Cops have no way to check India's favourite Holi brew Bhang

Bhang enthusiasts can breathe easy, literally. The Delhi police have no device to put the brakes on you. The breath-analysers employed by the men in khaki to check drunk drivers cannot detect Bhang. The fact was established yet again, on Holi day.

Delhiites kept the law-enforcers busy this Holi

Mukesh Kumar was one of the beneficiaries, while commuting from Gurgaon to Delhi on March 1. "I was stopped twice by the police but was set free both the times. I had only consumed bhang. The device used by the police officer was only to catch drunk drivers", he says.

"I was travelling from Okhla to Malviyanagar. The police caught me at Nehru Place. Though I had two glasses of thandai mixed with bhang, the cops didn't challan me for that. Instead I was challaned for not wearing a helmet," says Girish Pandia, a resident of Lajpat Nagar.

Shashank Sekhar, a resident of North Delhi thanks his stars. "I was lucky enough to escape. Two bikers were challaned in front of me for drunk driving. I was also not in my senses but pretended to be. I knew that they will not be able to detect my bhang content with their instrument and so managed to escape without being challaned", he recounts candidly.

According to Dr. Rashi Arora, a medical practitioner, "Drunk driving and driving after consuming Bhang is equally dangerous. In both cases the brain is not under the person's control. It can be detected only by blood or urine test. This is the reason why most of the users escape."

Bhang is patronised by Lord Shiva, and Amitabh Bachchan (well, in reel life). We don't recommend it, and even if you don't get caught, drive safely.

1,594 Number of people driving without helmets
922 Number of people jumping red lights
445 Number of people drunk driving
444 Number of people triple-riding
222 Number of people driving dangerously
162 Number of people over-speeding
1,551 Others

What's in a name?

Bhang goes by many names. Some call it marijuana, others kaya, iley, calley, opium, or ganja. In certain local languages, it is known as enyasore, njaga, enjaka or sikhwabi. But botanists and other scientists call it cannabis sativa.
Over the years, the consumption and trade in this herb has been extremely controversial worldwide. Some say marijuana causes dependence, but compared to cocaine, alcohol, heroine and nicotine, it has little addictive power and produces mild withdrawal symptoms.

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