It is high time that Malawi de-criminalized the growing and use of varieties of cannabis for industrial, medicinal and nutritional purposes. The prohibition of cannabis has caused huge damage to our society, environment and economy. Although the industrial strains of the plant have no psychoactive potential, the absurd level of prohibition has effectively destroyed its value as an agricultural cro
p. With that, we have lost the most efficient producer of biomass in the natural world, the strongest natural fibre, a better fabric than cotton, a better source of protein and essential fatty acids, a better paper than wood and one of the most ecologically important activities on the planet. And above all, no reasonable human being can deny another relief from pain, suffering or disability. Cannabis should therefore be reclassified so that cannabinoid medicine can be properly researched and also inorder that medical cannabis can be prescribed to patients who need it under a regulated and safe system, especially those with intractable symptoms which may be ameliorated by medical cannabis use. In the final analysis, a well regulated cultivation of cannabis for industrial, medicinal and nutritional purposes has a potential to attract investments in the growing, processing and retail of cannabis thereby creating jobs for Malawians. Above all, this entails that cannabis industry remains an unrealized potential source for government revenue through taxation.
