Should marijuana be legalized?: Striking the right balance

Cannabis plants grown illegally in Thanamalwila, Sri Lanka surrounded by banana plantation making them invisible to drones.

Cannabis or marijuana, better known in Asia as Ganja, is popular among people from all walks of life cutting across the socio-economic strata. In recent times, there has been a steady and growing global demand for medicinal cannabis. The US has emerged as the fastest growing market for booming medicinal cannabis industry. Today  we are witnessing a dramatic change of global attitude towards cannabis.  In 2020, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) removed cannabis from its most dangerous drugs category in Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. In 2018, U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex oral solution containing chemical compounds derived from cannabis for treatment of epilepsy associated with Lennox Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Dravet syndrome (DS), or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).  But due to lack of convincing scientific data about health benefits of chemical components in cannabis, FDA has made it still illegal for companies to put into market any edibles or supplements containing cannabis.  The reclassification by CND coupled with FDA approval has compelled nations to reconsider their existing legislations which have the effect of decriminalizing cannabis. 

Read on Sri Lanka's current legal framework relating to cannabis under Poisons, Opium And Dangerous Drugs Ordinance No.17 of 1929 as amended through this link.

Why an ancient medicine like cannabis was criminalized in the first place?

The European colonial governments enacted legislation to criminalize possession, cultivation, trade and supply of cannabis to make way for the tobacco industry to flourish, and thereby replace cannabis consumption with consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. The Colonial masters' intention behind criminalizing cannabis was to benefit from tax revenue levied on tobacco industry. Even today, the subject of cannabis has been heavily prejudiced owing to this mindset shift created by criminalizing cannabis as a harmful drug during colonial era and the resultant taboo associated with it. 

Get to know the cannabis plant better; Medical cannabis(CBD) v recreational cannabis(THC).

Cannabis plant, popularly known as Kansa
 in Sri Lanka.

Scientifically termed Cannabis sativa L, cannabis is a dioecious plant which has two major natural psychoactive compounds; namely delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). The entire plant is known as Kansa while Ganja is extracted from flowering heads of female cannabis plants. Cannabis is the dried, unprocessed flowers of the female cannabis plant from which both THC and CBD are extracted. The distinction between medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis lies in the two main types of Cannabis sativa plant namely hemp plants and cannabis plants, and ingredients found in them. Hemp plants have more CBD and minimal THC. Cannabis plants have more THC, and less CBD. THC is responsible for the “high” recreational users seek. It is CBD which is said to possess the healing potential. Therefore cannabis should not be wrongly perceived only as a dangerous harmful drug. Though scientific research has not yet proven categorically the significant health benefits cannabis claimed to possess, as Gen Z, we should be open minded to open doors for new scientific findings and discoveries to change our lives positively.   

Why saying yes to medical cannabis is a prudent move.

Cannabis is a subject of sowing controversy. Not knowing what you are up against would put you in the shoes of Shakespearean hamlet wondering to be in favor of cannabis or not to be. Therefore a scientific approach into highs and lows of use of cannabis should be adopted with an open mind  in considering the issue of legalizing cannabis. 

Juicing cannabis leaves rich in acidic cannabinoids
has become more popular in recent years.

Cannabis has a history of over thousands of years as a indigenous medicine for cure of numerous illnesses such respiratory ailments and diarrhoea and yet no one is said to have died of a weed overdose. But that doesn't mean cannabis has no harm. Cannabis is proven to be safer than alcohol and tobacco and far less addictive if used within proper limits. 

It can also be used medically to treat arthritis, sclerosis and lack of appetite and weight loss issues associated with HIV. CBD can be used to relieve post-chemo symptoms such as vomiting. Its seeds are hailed by many as a protein rich superfood which contains essential amino acids, and suggested by indigenous Ayurvedic medical practitioners as an ideal solution for eliminating malnutrition. The whole plant including roots which have anti-ageing properties and chlorophyll rich leaves have many health benefits.  CBD oil extracted from hemp plant can be used to alleviate chronic pain, anxiety and sleep disorders. Thus there is a strong case for legalizing cannabis for medical purposes. 

Economic prospects for medical cannabis industry.

Cannabis is a high utility value plant. Just as coconut tree is hyped to be tree of life, cannabis has the versatility to be used in many industries such as textile and cosmetics. Establishing a legalized and more organized cannabis hemp industry for medical purposes creates a range of skilled and unskilled job opportunities. Such a regulated cannabis industry can generate a billion dollar foreign income and tax proceeds for the government. Where no legal procedure conducive to large scale growing of cannabis for medical purposes is set up, finding high quality cannabis for medicine becomes an issue. Merely making exceptions in legislations criminalizing cannabis for permitting cannabis use for medicinal purposes isn't going to facilitate a robust regulated medicinal cannabis industry. Existing procedures must be streamlined and new procedures conducive to the industry must be established by the legislature. 

Why tropical countries are in a favorable position compared to its non-tropical peers in global medical cannabis market?

California which has fully legalized cannabis is the main supplier of good quality cannabis owing to their conducive climate to growing cannabis. Cannabis grown under direct natural sunlight are the best quality cannabis for medical purposes. Tropical countries are now in a race to avail themselves of these emerging economic prospects in the global medical cannabis market.  

  Densely grown cannabis(kansa) cultivation in
Thanamaliwila, Sri Lanka.

Why say no to legalizing recreational cannabis.

Fully legalizing cannabis brings into existence a kind of laissez faire where state is supposed to stand back and watch. State would be left with no other option than benefitting from tax proceeds generated from the cannabis industry. It is difficult to regulate proper distribution of cannabis and prevent its abuse in a fully legalized environment where main actors of the market would be the big multinational companies. Interests of public health will be out of bounds in a fully legalized environment like this. This is the main reason why a consideration to legalize recreational use of cannabis should be an extremely careful move. 

The second reason for the extremely careful approach to legalizing recreational use is the possible role  tobacco companies are said to be playing in legalizing cannabis. Tobacco companies are attempting to revive their declining tobacco business by funding cannabis lobby groups to create a new artificial demand for cannabis backed by favorable scientific findings and then hoping to roll out into market cannabis products to meet that demand. Even legalizing medicinal cannabis would be a tipping point for tobacco companies to push for the next step of legalizing cannabis for recreational use.

In countries where cannabis is fully legalized, increased rate of road accidents due to consuming cannabis is reported. Though cannabis is far more natural and nicotine-free compared to tobacco, THC in cannabis has intoxicating effects such as sleepiness, euphoria, heightened sensory perception, which inevitably contribute to road accidents, if drivers are under the influence of cannabis while driving. 

Is medical cannabis a gateway drug?

It would not be foolish to ask the question whether in case cannabis is legalized for medical purposes, wouldn't patients using cannabis as a cure become dependent on it over time. Unlike many prescription drugs which are far more addictive and hard to withdraw, cannabis is now identified as a soft drug and is not addictive in the strict sense. However a thing called cannabis addiction exists. But cannabis addiction is different from addiction to prescription drugs or hard core Class A drugs.  Its effects, symptoms and the level of addiction differ. 

However when abused, cannabis users can become addictive just the same way as digital ninzas, gym junkies and chocoholics addict. Thus the process of getting addicted to cannabis isn't no different from overeating burgers and addiction is simply hard to notice in the short term. You may feel happy and excited with a joint of pot first. But with time, physical and phycological symptoms start to appear and addiction becomes more visible, just like when you're diagnosed with high cholesterol years after overeating burgers. 

Abuse of cannabis usually results in a monstrous tolerance in your body to cannabis over time. It can mess up with your psyche to the point of cannabis becoming your first thing in the morning. Symptoms such as lack of motivation and focus, laziness and feeling depressed start to show with time. This makes smoking cannabis not a fun thing anymore. You start to become entirely dependent on it for your daily functioning.  It is this tolerance to cannabis which leads to use of more potent drugs in the future. So it is true that use of cannabis unless kept within limits is a gateway drug to more Class A hardcore drugs. And that is also one other major reason behind saying no to fully legalized recreational use of cannabis. 

Everything has a limit. Keeping the recreational use of cannabis within those expected limits is much harder in a fully legalized laissez fair environment. However under the supervision and recommendation of a medical practitioner medical cannabis can be kept within prescribed limits, preventing patients from overdoing it and thus reducing the chances of medical cannabis from becoming a gateway drug. Since there is fine line between abuse and proper use, under supervision and prescription of a general practitioner, and a more regulated medicinal cannabis industry  medical cannabis or products derived therefrom isn't likely to cross that line and fall into abuse over time, unlike in the case of strong prescription drugs.

What other countries have legalized cannabis and to what extent?

Canada, South Africa, Uruguay and 15 states of USA have fully legalized cannabis trade including recreational use. 25 states in the USA have legalized medicinal cannabis. South African Constitutional Council in the 2018 landmark ruling Garreth Anver Prince v President of the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope, focusing on the issue of privacy decriminalized the possession of cannabis(dagga) by an adult person in a private place for personal consumption. In Netherlands which has legalized recreational use of cannabis a coffee shop model is adopted to sell cannabis through licensed sellers for recreational uses. A host of other countries such as Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, Barbados, Ecuador, Zimbabwe and Cyprus have legalized only medicinal cannabis. In a handful of countries such as Georgia and Mexico cannabis is legalized only for consumption and cultivation and sale are prohibited. 

What are economic prospects of a legalized medicinal cannabis industry for countries?

Though it's far away from economic benefits under a fully legalized cannabis industry, even under a more regulated medicinal cannabis industry economic prospects remain high for countries, with skilled and unskilled new job opportunities being created, tax proceeds being generated, and foreign direct investment flowing into countries. Infrastructure development and bringing in of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and increase in foreign exchange earnings would be some other positive economic impacts which legalization of medicinal cannabis would bear.