Nepal, Aug. 12 -- On July 9, the Gandaki Province Assembly did something no Nepali legislature had managed since prohibition: It unanimously passed a bill licensing cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes. Province Chief Dilliraj Bhatta authenticated it on August 3. No licence can be issued, however, until the Provincial Government makes rules under Section 31 of the bill and the ministry issues the standards beneath them. That drafting is where this policy will actually be decided.

The architecture deserves credit. Prior consent, then infrastructure, then a licence granted only after inspection. A purchase agreement with a registered buyer anchors supply to declared demand rather than speculation, which Thailand lacke...