Cannabis smoke fills the air as Nepal marks Shivaratri festival

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Hindu holy men and mostly young devotees openly puffed on cannabis smoke on Sunday, marking one of Nepal's biggest annual festivals.

Tens of thousands lined up to pray at the Pashupatinath, the temple of the Hindu god Shiva in the capital Kathmandu, during the Shivaratri festival.

Marijuana is usually banned in the South Asian country, but exceptions are made to celebrate Shiva, who has strong links to the practice and has often been depicted smoking pot.

Devotees prayed and danced to religious songs at the temple, a landmark for Hindus who constitute about 81% of Nepal’s population. Others from neighboring India also traveled to Kathmandu for the festival.

Across the Bagmati River from the temple, holy men with their bodies smeared in ashes could be seen smoking marijuana, as well as many Nepali men and some women, on the forested Bankali hills.

Generally, the use of marijuana in Nepal is punishable by prison sentences of up to a month for users and 10 years for traffickers.

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.

There have been efforts to decriminalize marijuana in Nepal by both campaigners and parliament members to legalize its farming and use, but progress has stalled.