The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) in Mazabuka has arrested a village headman and his family in connection with the cultivation of 7 kilogrammes of cannabis.
The named villageman from Chief Hanjalika,his wife,and daughter are currently detained at Mazabuka Police station.
DEC Mazabuka Officer in charge, Patson Chiwala, could neither confirm nor deny the arrest of the traditional leader to ZANIS in Mazabuka.
But Magoye Member of Parliament, Ben Mweemba, who confirmed the arrest of the headman, told ZANIS in Mazabuka that people in his constituency are involved in the cultivation of cannabis because they want to raise funds to send their children to school.
He stated that high povery levels are forcing people, especially elderly men and women, to grow illicit drugs because they offer quick and good money.
Mr Mweemba has since urged government to devise a petition scheme for elderly people to deter them from engaging in the illegal cultivation of drugs.
He also suggested that government, through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, should provide monthly food rations to elderly people to save them from starving.
The MP also requested DEC to conduct sensitisation campaigns to educate people on the dangers of cultivating and trafficking in illict drugs.
People in Chief Hanjalika’s area in Mazabuka are notoriously known for cultivation of cannabis.
Last year in September, DEC officers in a morning seized 3,000 kilogrammes of cannabis and arrested ten farmers.
The seizure was the highest ever reported in the Southern Province.
ZANIS
Imwe naimwe! Just legalize it and collect tax out of it. These are just innocent and descent people trying to make a living by making other people feel good. It will be mutually benificial.
Awe, Moderator ibange libi! We cant allow such.
There has got to be a way to solve this problem.
Look at my neigbours (The Netherlands)! There you are allowed to smoke in a coffee shop legally, but why do other governments make a hustle about this ting? [-(
Ben Mweemba thats very true. These elderly people need GRZ assistance. They have been left to look after children of their children who have either past away or simply run away from responsibilities.#1 I dont see most countries legalising weed because they are involved in the dealing directly or indirectly( if you know what I mean). The rare the commodity the more the price and demand for it (this applies for most governemnt regulated items):-w
I think umkamba RB alechita sample ilya pa swazi. Only that can explain the notorious up and down movements:-?
but why ?? that tree is natural..its just grows and when you put it on fire and then sit near you feel good.why arrest him
The Dutch are civilised bane. Legalizing ibange could create chaos in Zed. Maybe they need to build a ‘hostel’ where you can go and smoke elo walala nokokwine. After your senses return. and you have been ascertained ‘normal’, you can leave!
DEC also shouldn’t work like a bunch of zombies. Arresting all these poor chaps without any attempt to think through the problem is not always the best solution. Look at Afghanstan where the might of the USA is failing to stop a bunch of cavemen surviving on the poppy (heroin) plant. We need a holistic approach to address the root causes otherwise DEC could be causing more misery & damage to our own people than the dope. I’m yet to see the statistics on the impact of mbanje on our people to warrant this vicious campaign.
Wat nosense suggestions by what i thought to be brilliant individuals, in every research people that smoke or use chamba have a failure to using their brains as it utters their thinking,which is often not in modern, imagine if its use was legalised,they would be chaos in this country, for Gods sake blogger think twice.
for the 7 kilos they will go to jail for many years but Ka Kafupi balikalekelako kachita na demand at give me better land and that no one can judge me.:-w:-w:-w innocent people just trying to earn a leaving coz Alabee has left them to suffer alone in the country tooooooo bad[-([-([-([-([-([-([-(
There is serious cocain trafficking in lusaka and other boader towns with the use of hard drugs rife in our cities. The DEC should concentrate there efforts on real drugs and king pin traffickers. We are always getting stories about old villagers being nabbed for dagga, what about more news on cocain busting ?
Legalize it.
You should legalize it. Cannabis is completely harmless without any long time effects. It isn’t even addictive (only psychologically, but so are many other things too). Of course when you have used a lot it will clutter your brain short term, but so does alcohol too. No normal person will drink lots of beer when they need to think. Same with cannabis, you just have to learn to live with it. Btw people who use cannabis usually won’t use alcohol (at the same time). Alcohol makes aggressive too causing many problems in public, cannabis does not.
Damn that plant looks so natural and healthy it is truly organically grown can wait to be in Zambia. Delicious.
Legalise it but put restrictions on its use. For instance no one should be seen smoking it in the public.