GREEN Party adopted candidate for the Livingstone Constituency, Teddy Andrew Mulenga, has said that his party’s plans to legalise marijuana will help to boost the revenue base for the country.
Dr Mulenga, who is an obstetrician by profession, said marijuana would be promoted as a cash crop to raise the much needed revenue for Zambia.
He was speaking at Livingstone Lodge at the weekend during the Livingstone Press Club (LPC) Public Debate Forum for aspiring parliamentary candidates in the August 11, 2016 General Elections.
Earlier, a Livingstone based political analyst, Paul Lipova, had asked Dr Mulenga on how safe the country would be when his party legalised marijuana.
In response, Dr Mulenga caused laughter when he said that the proceeds from marijuana sale would be used to repay the debt which the current Government had accumulated.
“Marijuana is a cash crop which we want to promote and not for smoking purposes. We will need to grow marijuana to boost the country’s revenue and repay the increasing debt.
“I am a medical doctor with 30 years of experience and I can’t promise something that will bring harm to you. Mariana never kills anybody,” Dr Mulenga said.
He said there were more people who were dying from alcohol and that he had never heard of people who were dying from marijuana.
“Alcohol is danger to society than the medicinal marijuana which we are trying to promote.
“Money is on the surface in Zambia and outside the box. As a Member of Parliament for Livingstone, I will ensure that we grow the green stuff (marijuana),” Dr Mulenga.
This Green Party thinks this is Netherlands or some country with low morals in Europe. Which Zambian will support your weed policies. Good luck with that.
What high morals have got?
you don’t even know how to define morality. where is the morality when public funds are being embezzled, when political and religious leaders are engaged in financial and sexual immorality, when university students are forced on the streets, when political violence is being tolerated? and you want to come here and say zambia is so morally right to reject a medicinal marijuana. Problem with zambians you believe everything you hear and read. Do your own research and analysis first. Thats why you even believed that MMD had designed pens that had ink capable of making the cross on Satas ballot to jump to Rupiahs and you all carried your own pens. very shallow if you ask me
High morals of ritual killings and politics of insults, and christianity of witchcraft.
If Green party wins this Doctor might find himself at chinama hospital because there will be an increase in mental illnesses due abuse of chamba. What kind of a Dr is he?
The Dr is spot on, do your research!!! He is ahead of his time for Zambian to make sense of his argument. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge.”
Ulubangula is extremely good food for thought, let’s go for it. What the green party are saying is true in that, measures must taken to ensure that the ‘weed’ is strictly for medical use and stringent Laws are spelt out to the general populous that there’s no misuse. Sometimes l wonder why we Zambians don’t agree in order to disagree. If the muzungus where the ones suggesting this idea, every body jumps, we are simply mentally colonised 50 years on, shame…
Besides, it was the same muzungus who encouraged us to criminalise something which was a part of our own culture and tradition. We seem to be so stupid on this score. As someone up there said, one wonders why we can not just do our own researh when we do have the facilities at the Bureau of Standards for chemical content, and at Chainama for neurological effect. And, these guys are not suggesting legalizing for recreation.
This is the only Party with an alternative solution !! We need to listen and digest this initiative seriously
They have got a market for this grug
LT why are blocking my comments
@ 6 meant to say ‘have they got a market
I Think This Man Is Mad,must Go To Chainama Hospital. Who Can Support Chamba?
Every so called developed place supports it and the citizenry and governments benefit. Have you ever met anyone who has ended up in chainama because of it?
Marijuana is quite safe. Let them legalize it. In almost all the states in America, it is now legal.
Let America and Uruguay economies make billions in tax dollars from weed, us in Zambia we can stay poor due to lack of imagination and servile mentality
Yes lets all get high and forget all our problems.
The Green Party and the Doctor are putting people on fire. Zambia has already the biggest number of mental patients on streets because of marijuana. The cost of marijuana effects rehabilitation is very huge compared to HIV treatment. Treatment of self-inflicted injury, suicide or attempted suicide, abuse of alcohol and drug addiction or abuse is an exclusion on Medical Insurance worldwide. The world market for marijuana is very small for now and its mostly black market although it is growing rapidly as more countries legalise it. For future it may be a booming trade if Sport legalise it, though it has got a big fight against religion, medical advice, culture. For now consumption is huge among poor societies getting it from their backyards who can,t even afford it when it is on the legal…
For now consumption is huge among poor societies (mainly Africa) who are getting it from their backyards & can’t even afford it when it is on the legal market. Where will the country get the money from for rehabilitation of marijuana patients the so called addicts. Developed countries are legalising it now because they have raised enough funds to treat the effects they are inviting. For them it like playing pool or darts, not a problem. But for us we are already failing to treat the problems we willingly invite like cholera, shortage of mealie meal, ritual murders, pangas, cadres, defections, and always look to the west or east for help. Which is our position our selves East, West, North, South, Central or no position?
True Zambian, you are expressing a lot of ignorance, I wonder if you are even in the States, or if you are, how exposed you are. If people like Obama and Bill Clinton have admitted smoking, at which point in their lives have they been poor desperate people? A lot of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and very high profile people smoke marihuana. Those people you see getting wasted in poor areas are more affected by kachasu. When you see those call boys at Kulima Tower getting crazy, that is Kachasu. I am not a sell-out, otherwise I would tell you some of the people I have smoked with and you would beshocked. Emancipate yourself from mental slavery my friend.
For now consumption is huge among poor societies (mainly Africa) who are getting it from their backyards & can’t even afford it when it is on the legal market. Where will the country get the money from for rehabilitation of marijuana patients the so called addicts. Developed countries are legalising it now because they have raised enough funds to treat the effects they are inviting. For them it like playing pool or darts, not a problem. But for us we are already failing to treat the problems we willingly invite like cholera, shortage of mealie meal, ritual murders, pangas, cadres, defections, and always look to the west or east for help. Which is our position our selves East, West, North, South, Central or no position?