By Correspondent.
(News of The South) – Malawi’s Parliament has on Thursday afternoon passed the bill legalizing the cultivation and use of industrial hemp, the plant that is likely to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on tobacco which is now failing on the market
Now Malawi looks at industrial hemp to increase its foreign earnings as it is likely to broaden the Gross Domestic Products (GDP)
Parliament approved the bill which was first tabled by former legislator Boniface Kadzamira, saying it was better to regulate the hemp trade and help Malawi’s fragile economy to grow.
The new legislation will provide for licensing of farmers to grow the drug strictly for medicinal use.
Tobacco industry, the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner, has dwindled due to anti-tobacco campaigns, so farmers are looking foward to grow cannabis following its legalisation.
Advocates of the medical use of marijuana say it can help with a range of conditions, easing chronic pain and the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and paraplegia.
However, anti-drug campaigners worry legalizing medical marijuana will encourage more recreational use but they’re facing an uphill battle against those who argue to regulate the trade and help Malawi’s economy grow.
A number of countries which have already legalized the growing of hemp like South Africa have already registered significant growth in their trade earnings emanating from the crop.
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