PROTESTERS held a candlelight vigil outside Kajang Prison last Friday in support of decriminalisation of medical marijuana (cannabis oil).
Last week, the South African Constitutional Court legalised the use of cannabis by adults in private places and the growing of marijuana for private consumption. Canada and Europe are leading the world in “cannabis capitalism” and entrepreneurship, which could prove to be a game changer in the use and fortunes of this controversial drug.
The world’s largest soft drinks maker, Coca Cola Co. is in talks with Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Inc. for a possible tie-up to produced cannabidiol-infused beverages.
In Denmark, StenoCare, the local cannabis firm, is preparing to list shares on the Copenhagen Spotlight Exchange in October to raise about US$3 million (RM12.4 million), which would be a first in Europe to launch an initial public offering (IPO) to take advantage of a surge in investor interest in cannabis-related business.
What is happening? Is the world going mad, or getting high on the promise of drug taxes and profits, or is the time nigh to decriminalise cannabis and its other variant, medical marijuana, for private use?
Call it what you like — ganja, cannabis, marijuana, skunk, dagga, Moroccan black, hash, hashish, weed and grass — these are the street names of cannabis in various parts of the world.
There are three main types of street cannabis — hash (hashish or resin), herbal cannabis (weed, grass or marijuana) and high-potency cannabis or skunk. Hash is made from the resin of the plant, while herbal cannabis is made from the dried leaves and flowering parts of pollinated cannabis plants.
The common theme is that individuals, activists and corporations are trying to capitalise on the growing decriminalisation of the drug for private and medical use — at the latest count, in some 30 countries worldwide. As such, the market growth potential for cannabis products is huge.
The contradictions are glaring. At a time when the United States is in the midst of an opioid addiction epidemic, with a threat of spreading to Europe, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) continues to campaign against tobacco and cigarette smoking, the world seems to be sleepwalking into legalising another smoke inhalation product.
Never mind the devastating addictive and health consequences of another recreational product — alcohol, which is costing societies a fortune in healthcare and social costs.
Some countries are only legalising the use of cannabis oil for medical use, while others for private use or both. I can understand the use of cannabis-based products such as Sativex for the alleviation of symptoms of multiple sclerosis and also patients, especially children, with severe epilepsy, albeit the scientific evidence is still nascent.
Recently, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid allowed the limited use of cannabis oil to treat 12-year-old epileptic, Billy Caldwell, amidst growing calls for the legalisation of cannabis for private use.
In Malaysia, cannabis oil can only be used for research purposes. There is a strong case for the use of proven cannabis-based pharmaceutical products to be legalised, but under medical supervision and only through prescription only.
When it comes to cannabis for recreational private use, the danger is that we may be going down a slippery slope. According to the UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists, regular recreational cannabis use, particularly at a younger age, increases the risk of developing a psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It can also lead to learning, concentration, sleep, and psychiatric problems.
The reality is that medical research in the costs and benefits of cannabis remains under-developed. I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, with the fifth largest murder rate in the world. I have seen the violent psychotic effects of mixing the use of dagga (the local name for cannabis) with cheap liquor, often resulting in casualties and fatalities.
There is a huge difference between the behaviour of the chattering classes fancying a recreational spiff with those less fortunate and with mental issues for whom lighting up a joint is an addiction or a form of escapism.
When a court declares that it is a human right to grow and smoke your own marijuana in private, it has taken the cannabis conundrum a step too far. It’s time we put a stop to it.
The writer is an independent London-based economist and writer