It’s time for a candid debate on cannabis

It is time we informatively spoke about cannabis with an aim of learning and not merely reacting. Leaders have continued to share subjective sentiments on why decriminalisation of cannabis exists with minimal objective facts.

This is a plant whose commonly grown strains are cannabis indica and cannabis sativa.

Hempethics Weekly explains that hemp and marijuana both come from a similar plant - cannabis sativa. Hemp refers to industrial or commercial use of cannabis stalk and seed for textiles, foods, papers, body care products, detergents, plastics and building materials.

MARIJUANA

Marijuana, on the other hand, refers to medicinal, recreational or spiritual use involving the smoking of cannabis flowers. Marijuana plant comprises hundreds of chemical compounds that create a unique harmony of effects, mainly led by cannabinoids and terpenes.

Cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the most common main drivers of cannabis’ therapeutic and recreational effects. THC is what makes you hungry, relaxed and relieves symptoms like pain and nausea associated with chemotherapy in most cancer patients while CBD alleviates anxiety, pain and inflammation.

Medically, cannabis is used as an appetite stimulant for severe weight disorders like anorexia, pain relief for people with cancer, arthritis, extreme menstrual cramping, neurological disorders, epilepsy, glaucoma and certain asthmatic treatments.

FIBRE

Industrial hemp produces four times as much fibre per acre as pine trees. Moreover, hemp tree-free paper can be recycled up to seven times, compared with three times for pine pulp-based papers.

Research indicates that hemp seed and seed-oil are high in protein, essential fatty and amino acids and is an ideal source of biomass fuel as its ethanol burns very cleanly. Countries that have embraced commercial use of hemp understand it is big business with promising mega markets in Australia, Germany, Poland, Colombia, Uruguay, and Israel.

There are newer markets like UK and Thailand. The US legal cannabis market was valued at $11.9 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to expand at 24.1 per cent from 2019 to 2025. In Africa, Lesotho became the first country to legalise the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes in 2018 followed by Zimbabwe.

South Africa and New Zealand are discussing legalisation of medicinal marijuana. Africa is second after the Americas in the production and consumption of cannabis, according to 2018 UNODC World Drug Report. This means there is so much underneath hemp beyond the usual visual of a thick cloud of smoke and hallucinating people. When we talk about it, we must endeavour to have a balanced discussion.

The writer is a policy analyst; [email protected]