NEW DELHI: There has been a sudden spurt in marijuana consumption in the capital. Police statistics show just how worrying it is—there has been a 502% jump in the number of seizures this year as compared to last year.Till April 30, 1,345 kilos of marijuana was seized. In the corresponding period last year, the seized quantity was 223kg.Last year, the demand for cannabis had been just 2,417 kilos in the entire year. This year, the figure is suspected to cross the 5,000kg mark.Arrested peddlers have confessed to the police that the peddling of the drug near universities and colleges has risen. Places like Majnu Ka Tila near north campus and some areas in south Delhi are particularly popular delivery hubs. Police said that a lot of autorickshaw drivers also peddle in these areas. A crackdown is in the making.Many users are of the view that smoking pot is harmless and should be legalised. Some users, mostly college students that TOI spoke to, said they smoked pot as it was better than smoking cigarettes and quoted online research to claim it is harmless.“We all know that cigarettes are far more dangerous, However, marijuana is a herb..,” said a 2nd year student of a south campus college. Another student had quit smoking pot after his parents got to know and had taken to smoking cigarettes for a while. However, he said he had gone back to smoking joints as they “felt better”. Youths said they preferred the Idduki Gold (Kerala) and Andhra strain weed as they give a better high.However, doctors have a different opinion, saying that marijuana has harmful effects on the mind and body. From short term memory issues, disorientation, lowered reaction time to problems like feeling nervous and anxious are found in cannabis users. The users are also at the risk of heart attack and stroke, research has indicated.However, cannabis cartels across the country are now pushing the drug in the capital as it grows in popularity. “In Delhi, weed is being pushed in from Odisha , Andhra Pradesh , Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,” DCP (crime) Bhisham Singh said.“Hilly terrains, suitable climate, inaccessible areas and support of the locals made the district a safe haven for cultivators,” an official said. Detecting cannabis cultivation is also difficult when grown alongside other similar looking plants.A major chunk of the supply of cannabis is from Naxal affected areas. DCP (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha recalls that his team had seized 540 kg of the narcotic, cleverly hidden in specially designed cavities of a truck in Mathura road. The marijuana was sourced from areas under Naxal control in Jharkhand and Odisha. “Maoists take advantage of the geographical situation and inaccessibility in dense forests. The drug mafia hires tribals for farming and transporting the drug,” an investigator explained.The cultivation of Marijuana is on the rise in Bihar as well in the wake of the liquor ban there.Cooch Behar and neighboring areas in West Bengal and Tripura are other places from where the drug is shipped to Delhi. In Andhra Pradesh, most of the hot beds are located in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, cops say while Bastar and Dantewada have large cultivation in Chhattisgarh.