Social anachronism

Like all debates in Zambia, cannabis is currently the eye of a major storm pitting the so-called traditional purists and modernists. There is a strong belief that cannabis is an evil that should never be countenanced in any form, shape or colour while the more liberal members of our society believe that advantage should be taken of the many benefits of cannabis that have been identified. The arguments are not based on any established scientific proof but on long held beliefs that are steeped in mythology. The colonialists told us that cannabis was dangerous as it was a mind bending chemical that destroyed society and was thus criminalized. Nothing was said about the dangers of alcohol which had the very proven effect of destroying lives, family cohesion and in many cases induced grave medical conditions including cirrhosis of the liver which is a terminal illness. It would be an understatement that the traditionalists arguing for the ban of cannabis are not really so conservative or indeed steeped in tradition because cannabis has always been used for recreation by members of Zambian society ranging from Chipata to Mwinilunga, Kasama to Livingstone. Villagers know the benefit of cannabis and have used it appropriately. Sadly with the advent of colonialism cannabis like many other things was outlawed. The reality is that cannabis like any other chemical does indeed pose a danger but has equally beneficial effects which must be embraced. This is true because twenty nine states out of fifty two in the United States of America have legalized medical marijuana and eighty four percent of that population believes that the drug should be legalized for medical uses in addition to the more controversial recreational use. In the same vein the American National Institute on drug abuse recognizes that this drug has medicinal benefits. Two different effects have been identified the Cannabidiol (cbd) which somehow affect the brain without causing a major high and Tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) which relieves pain and is at the same time responsible for the high that users experience. Scientists are actually working to determine more benefits and dangers in the use of cannabis but for the time being the benefits would seem to outweigh the potential dangers that are yet to be established apart from the fear that chronic heavy users may have impaired memory, learning and processing speed. The benefits so far identified include cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain. Many people in developed countries including a report by the National academies of sciences, engineering and medicine vouch to definitive evidence that cannabis or Cannabidiodes which are found in the marijuana plant have an effect in treating chronic pain among other uses. On the brighter side too there is evidence that cannabis does no harm to the lungs unless it is smoked together with tobacco. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggesting that marijuana does not impair lung function but may actually increase lung capacity. Therefore what the government is trying to achieve in developing medical marijuana is in tandem with what many other developing countries in the world have done. If anything the government is actually more conservative because elsewhere in the world recreational marijuana has been legalized in the same way that many old women in our own country particularly in southern province would be found smoking as part of tradition. In the eastern province and indeed many parts of Zambia young men smoke for energy and recreation. Time has come therefore when this country should take full cognizance of the abundant resources that have been bequeathed to this society.