AU EXPERTS ASK FOR BAN ON CANNABIS

HEALTH experts from the African Union (AU) have asked member states
to ban the growing of cannabis, popularly known as marijuana.

They are worried that the cultivation of the drug, locally known as
njaga/i), was affecting agricultural production and posing serious
food shortage on the continent.

It was also observed that cannabis users were at a higher risk of
contracting HIV, among other sexually transmitted infections.

The concerns are contained in a 12-page document passed at the
African Union conference of ministers for drug control and crime
prevention, held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, from December
3-7.

"African leaders should acknowledge the use of cannabis as a
continental problem. Governments should get more involved in drug
control through adoption and application of effective legislations
and border control. Populations especially in the rural areas should
stop cannabis production," the document reads in part.

Speaking to The New Vision recently, Dr. David Basangwa, who was one
of the Ugandan delegates at the conference, said: "Some people are
planting more acres of cannabis and less of food, because they think
they will get more money. This leads to food insecurity, and that is
why we feel that production of the drug should be stopped across nations."

On HIV, Basangwa, a drug control expert and senior psychiatrist at
Butabika Hospital, explained that some people were injecting the drug
into their skin, using unsterilised equipment. "Even in Uganda, it is
happening, though it is a hidden activity," he said.

Basangwa, however, expressed concern that Uganda does not have a
statutory body to oversee drug control. He also wondered why a bill
on drug abuse had not been passed by Parliament, yet the laws in
place are weak and archaic.