From children as young as five to those in their sixties, Malana’s villagers are busy doing what they always do this time of the year: extracting charas from the seeds of cannabis plants they bring from Parvati Valley and adjoining areas. September and October are the peak season for the crop. Official sources estimate that in the entire Kullu valley, about 4,000 acres is under cannabis cultivation. “There has been no official survey; these conservative estimates are based on inputs gathered from intelligence and local people,” said a government official. (See also: HP govt to encourage people to stop sowing cannabis, poppy | Odisha second in country to destroy cannabis cultivation)