This is an introductory discussion on international perspectives on the legalisation of hard drugs in the context of shifting drug laws. Dreadlocked hair like mine never ceases to divide opinion and generate excitement.
MIRIAM TOSE MAJOME
Out on the street we are accosted with names like rasta, dred, gulez wangu murasta and empress among others all the time.
There is never a dull moment for a dreadlocked person out and about. It may sometimes be irritating and annoying but it is never dull. I have had complete strangers walk up to me and advise me very kindly on where I can get the best mbanje in town because I am supposed to be a Rastafarian. I am not religious and certainly am not Rastafarian and I do not smoke, but I have had some pretty interesting street conversations on the legalisation of mbanje.
Zimbabwe the ideal emerging drug market As a country we will have to tackle our drug laws because we are affected by international laws. Moreso, Zimbabwe is regarded by international traffickers as a particularly lucrative emerging market and a preferred trafficking route because of the use of the US dollar and less sophisticated drugs detection methodologies at ports of entry.
It is a convenient and ready market also because of the depressed socio economic environment which is natural fodder for demand and consumption of hard drugs. The use of heroin and cocaine is steadily rising among the nouveau riche, while cheaper drugs like mbanje remain popular among rich and poor alike. Given the current trends we may not be far from a local pandemic of Crystal Meths and the discovery of a makeshift cooking lab somewhere.
We will focus on mbanje because it is the first major illicit drug to be legalised in many countries. The legislation of some hard drugs has been necessitated by the realisation that the war against hard drugs is in all honesty unwinnable no matter the resources and skills poured into it.
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Ironically, legalisation is seen as a means of controlling the illegal drugs trade and associated crime Control of the trade by governments is believed to curb the negative social and physiological effects of trading and using hard drugs.
Legalisation is potentially a viable tax source for governments and saves national expenditure ordinarily incurred in fighting trafficking and illegal trade. The income and tax earned can be used to develop government health programmes such as rehabilitation and prevention strategies.
Criminalising mbanje Possession of cannabis is still illegal in most countries but it was not always this way. For centuries it was traditionally used for both recreational and medicinal purposes in many cultures. Like cocaine and heroin it was even once sold openly in pharmacies.
Some may know that the drink Coca Cola was originally made with cocaine until this was stopped in 1903. Cannabis used to be freely grown, sold, bought and smoked worldwide until it was criminalised from the 1930’s. Persuasive research findings about its negative physiological effects led to growing disaffection with its unrestricted use and trade leading to major world jurisdictions outlawing it.
However, this fuelled the emergence of underground counter cultures which are found in virtually all communities worldwide. One can get weed absolutely anywhere in the world without even trying all that hard.
These groups continue to promote its illegal trade and use. Demand has not quelled from the peak of the counter cultural revolution in the 1960’s. Mbanje remains the world’s most popular and most readily available drug with the most users and secret users of any drug. The world is simply not going to stop growing and using it however negative its consequences.
The realisation that the war against trade in illegal drugs is unwinnable led to adoption of more liberal laws from the 1990’s to cope and deal with the problem more realistically and progressively. Some of the countries that have legalised it in varying degrees include some American states, Canada, Jamaica, Argentina, Spain, North Korea among many more. Countries with the harshest laws include Zimbabwe, China, Japan and the majority of Islamic countries but even they too have failed to control the trade and use of hashish as it is widely known in the Middle East.
Zimbabwe Despite very strict laws the use and trade of mbanje remains very high compounded by alternative hard drugs on the market. Mbanje and other illicit drugs such as heroin or cocaine and their variants are strictly forbidden.
It is illegal to import, export, sell, offer or advertise for sale, distribute, deliver, transport or otherwise deal in dangerous drugs. The same with cultivating, producing or manufacturing any dangerous drug for the purpose of dealing in it or possessing it.
Inciting another person to consume a dangerous drug, supplying or administering it or procuring it for any person or offering to do so is a serious crime. Drug dealing refers to selling or performing any act whether as a principal agent, carrier, messenger or any other role connected with the delivery, collection, importation, exportation, supply, administration, manufacture, cultivation, procurement or transmission. In short thou shalt not even think about illegal drugs in Zimbabwe let alone touch.
Netherlands It is a fairly liberal country and was the first to relax its drugs laws in 1976 with observable successes. Crime rates are very low to the extent that some prisons have been closed due to low prison populations.
Usage and possession of small amounts of cannabis of up to 5 grams is permitted. Growing cannabis plants is not allowed and police will merely confiscate up to five plants and prosecute for more than five plants seized. There are dedicated specialist coffee shops for people to gather around and smoke joints in undisturbed bliss.
Uruguay In 2015 Uruguay the home of Louis Suarez became the world’s first nation to legalise the production, sale and consumption of cannabis. The government would have monopoly over supply and distribution.
Production companies would operate under special licence and the government would determine the price, quality and maximum production volumes. Users have to be registered in the national database and are allowed to buy up to 40 grams per month from the government itself. Registration enables the government to track and monitor consumption.
Individual cultivators are allowed to grow up to 6 crops at their homes and registered smoking clubs can grow 99 plants annually. Foreigners are prohibited from buying it and it is illegal to move it across international borders. It has proved very difficult to implement the new law which is still under trial and has not yet recorded successes. We will continue and discuss local interventions next week.
Miriam Tose Majome a lawyer and a teacher. She can be contacted on [email protected]
