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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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MALAWI DEBATES LEGALISING CANNABIS FOR EXPORT
Saturday 15 Apr 2000 Subject: MALAWI DEBATES LEGALISING CANNABIS FOR EXPORT Date: 15 Apr 2000 http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/briefing/nw20000417/65.html FEATURE-MALAWI-CANNABIS MALAWI DEBATES LEGALISING CANNABIS FOR EXPORT BLANTYRE 15 April 2000 Sapa-AFP Legislators in Malawi have suggested that the impoverished southern African country should legalise the growing of cannabis as a foreign currency earner. Joe Manduwa, a member of parliament for President Bakili Muluzi's United Democratic Front, said cannabis could be an alternative to the country's main export crop, tobacco, which is under fire from the international anti-smoking lobby. He said cannabis should be grown for non-narcotic uses, adding that the cannabis business was booming all over the world, with more than 200 companies manufacturing a wide range of hemp products from the plant. "We are talking here about a non-narcotic herb, not for smoking, but for other important uses that can earn the country a lot of foreign exchange," Manduwa told parliament. He was supported by senior opposition legislator Hetherwick Ntaba, who said cannabis could be the alternative to tobacco "so long as it is grown under strict control to ensure it is not abused". "Faced with the tobacco threat, Malawi has the basis to start arguing for cannabis," said Ntaba. Tobacco, known here as "green gold", accounts for up to 70 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings. Malawian cannabis is also renowned in the region as one of the best available, although it is illegal to grow, smoke or deal in it. The debate in parliament has drawn mixed reactions. Mark Katsonga, chairman of the Malawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Malawi needed to thoroughly research the possibilities of avoiding the use of cannabis as a narcotic "to safeguard our people from running mad". Human rights activist Peter Chisi said the issue should be discussed at a global level before Malawi took any action on its own. "Even if we legalise cannabis in Malawi, where are we going to sell its products if many countries have prohibitive laws?" he asked. Hazwell Kanjaye, a spokesman for the United Nations Development Programme in Malawi said studies showed, however, that the growing of cannabis was already on the increase. "More families in Malawi have switched from the growing of food to cultivation of cannabis because of its lucrative and ready market," he said. Malawi recently signed an accord with two specialised UN agencies designed to deal with the problem of cannabis production and trafficking. The accord runs from this year until 2004 and seeks to educate Malawians on the harmful effects of narcotic drugs and to develop new legislation to control their production and use.
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