Malawi’s Parliament has passed a bill authorizing the production of a local variety of cannabis, also known as chamba (Igbo, Ganja). The bill faced opposition from some politicians amid growing mental health issues in the country.
Malawian legislators legalized the cultivation of variety of cannabis for industrial and medicinal use but smoking remains illegal,
Malawi’s parliament says legislation that will boost dwindling foreign exchange earnings.
This bill was approved after studies by the Cannabis Regulatory Authority showed that the local cannabis called Chamba is in high demand abroad and could yield more than $700 million annually.
Lawmaker Peter Dimba, who tabled the bill, told the house that noted that the current Act was too restrictive to those who want to take part mainly on commercial and investment fronts.
Malawi depends on tobacco for foreign exchange earnings, but poor prices have prompted calls for the legalization of cultivation of the local cannabis.
This means that parliamentarians in Malawi have amended the Cannabis Regulation Act of 2020 to facilitate regulation of cultivation for commercial purposes of the local marijuana because farmers said the previous act did not yield the expected results.
The amended Act was said to be too restrictive in their debates to those who wanted to take part in the cultivation of industrial hemp, mainly on the investment part.
Dimba, who moved the motion, was quick to point out that the Bill is likely to be merged with the Dangerous Drugs Act to allow for the proper regulation of local cannabis sativa.
“Our local chamba is on high demand out there on the market and according to the market research by the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, the industry will be able to bring in forex as much as $200 million in its infancy stage but when it grows to maturity is expected to grow to as much as $700 million per year, so that is a lot of money.”
News of the amendment has pleased the Rastafarians community in Malawi.
The groups’ Spokesperson Patrick Galawanda has told SABC that legalization of locally grown cannabis on commercial will protect them from getting arrested.
“We the Rastafarian Community, it’s a welcome idea that is has been long we have been crying for the legalization of the Cannabis, and again we the Rastafarian family we use cannabis for spiritual purposes, secondly, it’s something that can boost our economy easily, so once legalized its legalized.”
The same applies to the tobacco, tobacco was legalized so you cannot put a limit on conducting, lets us trade and as for the Rasfaris we have to advertise.
However, some Malawians want cannabis cultivation to remain illegal. This is because recently, Drug Fight Malawi, a local Non-Governmental organization observed that the number of teenagers using cannabis doubled soon after Malawi legalized the use of industrial hemp in 2020.
But Dimba told parliamentarians that the law is clear that those that will abuse the local marijuana will face the arm of the law, in line with Section 24 of the Cannabis Act. “The laws are very clear, the laws are intact that will ensure that those that abuse chamba face the long arm of the law.
“In fact, Section 24 of the Cannabis Act, it is clearly stipulated that cultivation, shipment, possession and use of chamba without permission or licence from the Cannabis Regulatory Authority is actually a criminal offence so that is still intact and so people must not understand it as legalising chamba for recreational purposes, no, but strictly for industrial and medicinal use.”
Malawi has depended on tobacco for a long time, which accounts for 60% of foreign exchange earnings.
Tobacco prices have fallen due to anti-smoking campaigns by the World Health Organization, prompting calls for the legalization of cultivation of cannabis for commercial purposes.
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