The legal status of marijuana has been the subject of competing proposals from government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as Parliament moves to make the psychoactive narcotic derived from the cannabis plant illegal.
It comes after the Attorney General reintroduced the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill on May 23, which aims to make it illegal to use, cultivate, supply, and trade cannabis and khat, also known as Miraa locally.
In 2015, Parliament passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for the first time. The Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association filed a petition in 2017, and the Constitutional Court dismissed it on the grounds that the required quorum was not present when the Bill was approved.
The Defense and Internal Affairs Committee of Parliament then reexamined the Bill in June and reported its findings to Parliament. Anita Among, Speaker of the House, rebuffed it, noting a “significant alteration of the principles proposed in the Bill.”
Maj. Gen. Otafiire Kahinda, Minister of Internal Affairs, stated during testimony before the Committee that the Bill should legalize marijuana so that the plant could be used medicinally and as a commercial crop.
Kepher Kuchana Kateu, the Director of the Government Analytical Laboratory, supported Otafiire’s request by pointing out that while Khat is dangerous when overused, the plant has many medical benefits and serves as a source of raw materials for the textile industry.
However, Dr. Juliet Nakku, the Director of Butabika National Referral Hospital, urged Members of Parliament to ignore economic incentives and make cannabis production and sales illegal in a presentation she submitted on the topic to the Health Committee of the House of Representatives.
Dr. Nakku told URN that among patients receiving rehabilitation at Butabika Hospital, alcohol use ranks first, followed by problems with cannabis and khat use. It is linked to relapses and poor recovery, she continued.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, also rejected the Ugandan Miraa growers’ claim that the manufacturing and sale of the pharmaceuticals have a big economic impact, claiming that doing so could have unfavourable effects on the nation.
Dr. Aceng advised, “We would better protect our people before we went into something we did not know. Let’s study the economies of nations where such substances are permitted and see whether they are increasing.
Adidwa Abudu, a representative for Bukooli County, questioned why the Ministry of Internal Affairs removed khat from the list of illegal narcotics while the same Ministry persuaded Parliament to pass the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in 2015, citing an increase in mental health disorders in the nation.
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended in 1972, establishes a framework of dual obligations for governments to ensure the availability of such drugs for medical purposes and prevent abuse and diversion, according to Dr. Henry Ddungu, Board Chairperson of the Palliative Care Association of Uganda.
Dr. Ddungu contends that enforcing strict criminal justice laws against the misuse of controlled substances is harmful and infringes on the rights of patients who are most in need of care. He said, “Freedom from pain is a Human Right.”
Dr. Charles Ayume, chair of the health committee, and Wilson Kajwengye, chair of the defence and internal affairs committees, both told URN that all of the opposing stakeholder viewpoints would be taken into account and brought to Parliament for final deliberation.
The National Drug Policy and Authority Act, Cap. 206, has been criticized for being too weak and failing to appropriately address the problem of illicit drugs in the nation. The government is working to fix these problems.
If an offender is found guilty of carrying narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances under the new Bill, they might be sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of ten years in prison in addition to a fine of 500 currency points, or roughly 10 million shillings.
A penalty of not less than 480,000 Shillings and not more than 2.4 million shillings or a jail sentence of not less than 12 months but not more than five years is imposed for using narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances by smoking, inhaling, sniffing, chewing, or any other method.
An offender faces a fine of 10 million Shillings or life in jail upon conviction for trafficking narcotic drugs and psychiatric substances. To prevent misuse of these medications for medical purposes, the government has highlighted the necessity of de-registering from professional bodies any medical professional found guilty of incorrect prescription of these substances.
