Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zambia Medical Association commends Government on bold decision on cultivation of Marijuana

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FILE: UTH gynecologist Dr Samson Chisele (left0 and KHC medical superintendent Dr John Mwewa during the handover of the cervical cancer screening clinic in Kitw

The Zambia Medical Association has commended government for the bold and innovative decision it has taken to allow cultivation, processing and exporting of cannabis for economic and medicinal purposes.

Dr Samson Chisele, the Association President said the association has in the past few years advocated for the decriminalization of cannabis to allow for locally generated clinical research to assess the long-term safety and medical relevance of marijuana.

Dr Chisele has implored government to actively engage in a continuous consultative process with regards growing, processing, distribution, dispensing and prescription of medical marijuana.

He said the Zambia Medical Association acknowledges that marijuana has a long history of medical use dating back to ancient China, Greece and Egypt.

Dr Chisele said the plant was identified to treat a number of chronic medical conditions.

“In modern medicine, medical marijuana is known to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy (cancer treatment), improve appetite in HIV/AIDS patients, reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms, treat migraines, glaucoma and severe forms of epilepsy”, he said.

However, Dr Chisele said in light of the euphoria exhibited by members of the general public regarding Cabinet’s decision to give approval, in principle, to the Ministerial Technical Committee for the cultivation, processing and exporting of cannabis for economic and medicinal pumoses, has clarified that ordinary marijuana differs from medical marijuana.

He explained that the former contains over 400 chemical compounds, some of which have serious psychoactive effects (the ‘high’ feeling), while the latter usually only contains 2 well-refined extracts of the plant, with scientifically proven benefits to treat s ecific medical conditions.

Dr Chisela said the Zambia Medical Association, through its membership, is open to play a professional consultative role to government, the general public and other stakeholders on matters relating to the marijuana plant and its medical use.

He said there is more room for research in the area of medicinal use of marijuana in order to domesticate some of the benefits as well as possible side effects that the use of marijuana may have.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Don’t be too quick to commend without knowing the specific terms and conditions or regulatory framework. Where a licence will cost 250k usd, there is a mischievous intention on the part of lungu and his cohorts. Be clever abena Zambia

    • On the next annivesary of Bob Marley, Govt should release those innocent souls who were wrongly imprisoned for growing, traffiking and smoking Ganja.

    • God said to Adam: “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”

  2. I found all my goals fast asleep at my Shimabala farm yesterday. They had eaten all my seedlings. Can we involve veterinary doctors also?

    • Genesis 1:29 ““Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.””

  3. Please come out clean and clear on the issue of legalizing the growing of medicinal or what ever marijuana. In our context you may open a Pandora box as every Jim and Jack will now start cultivating marijuana no matter what conditions you will put up. It will be difficult to condemn others while others can grow it with permits from government for whatever reason. Are you telling me this now will be one of the cash crops in Zambia. How are you going to ensure the marijuana being grown is not going to be smoked at will and abused by the youths now that it will be on the open market? There is need to move with caution here others you will need to put up rehabilitation centers for drag abusers. Peter Tosh I am sure will be turning in his grave and smile with his song, “Legalize Marijuana”

    • In the past 20 years, there has been an increasing number of people in Zambia abusing narcotics such as ARV’s mixed with ganja, mandrax, cocaine and heroin. This is an indication that Zambia is no longer a transit nation but a drug consumer nation.” The drugs are not only used in poverty-stricken compounds but all over the major towns. Reasons are unemployment to depression for taking mind-numbing drugs , men, women teeneagers, street kids, blacks, lebanese , indians, mzungus, AND EVEN POLICEMEN take these drugs secretly or privately

  4. You allow dobo for export but prohibit local use! Most Zambians smoke lubanje especially at unza and other tertiary establishments. We also have many gays. Most don’t even know they are guy! We refuse gay rights money and accept dobo money! Ne yaya

  5. This is boring now. Just because PF says so and everyone wants to shout the loudest. Where were you when Sinkamba was fighting this battle alone and you were busy saying alipena uyu. Tell the presido in his face this we see if it makes sense!
    Disaster

  6. Will marijuana legalization make other businesses go under?
    1. One acre of hemp produces twice as much oil as one acre of peanuts.
    Agriculture, Papermakers have high hopes for Industrial Hemp.
    Agri-View. ” Wisconsin’s largest farm newspaper” April 27, 1995.
    2. America’s first hemp law was enacted in 1619 at Jamestown Colony, Virginia ordering all farmers to grow Indian hemp seed.
    Clark. V.S., History of Manufacture in the United States, Mcgraw Hill. NY 1929. pg 34.
    3. Cannabis hemp was legal tender in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800’s. you could even pay your taxes with cannabis hemp.
    Clark. V.S., History of Manufacture in the United States. Mcgraw Hill. NY 1929. pg. 34.
    4. “The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp which began to be worked…

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