2 November 2009
editorial
THE number of people arrested for trafficking in cannabis over the independence celebrations period is an indicator that cannabis consumption still remains a huge problem.
Just in that short period, the Drug Enforcement Commission arrested 51 people and seized 800 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Looking at the statistics in the past few months, an average of 10 people are arrested per month for either trafficking in cannabis or being found in possession of the drug.
There are many reasons for this scenario and the first one is that it is highly lucrative to cultivate and sell cannabis as opposed to other crops.
As a result, there is an increasing temptation by farmers to grow cannabis which has high returns with very little input.
Obviously, there is a ready market and many people are willing to take the risk.
The other reason is that, in some rural parts of Zambia, many people still believe that cannabis is not harmful to their health and use it for either leisure or some form of steroid to enhance their physical prowess.
It is still believed that only drugs like cocaine or heroin are harmful and therefore many people do not frown upon those involved in trafficking or consumption.
There are no easy answers to this problem but part of the solution lies in education awareness programmes for both the traffickers and the consumers.
But to help people refrain from cultivating cannabis, alternative and high value crops should be introduced to these growers such that they can be encouraged to stop growing cannabis.
There are crops like sunflower, cotton, tobacco that give sufficient returns and the cannabis growers must be introduced to these crops.
For the consumers, the way to go is educate them so that they are able to say no to drugs.
Some of them graduate from cannabis to cocaine and heroin and it is important that preventive measures such as sensitisation programmes are carried out.
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