Uganda Should Accept Cannabis Prouduction For Medicinal Use

By Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

On 28th July 2014, the Newvision reported,' Bobi wine wore a cap branded 'weed' during the burial of Keron in Kiryagonja near Matugga along Bombo Road. The same year,he reportedly caused a storm while at a hang out, The Office in Jinja,' when he openly demonstrated to revelers how to roll a 'joint' of marijuana and proceeded to smoke it as fans cheered him on. Pictures of his demo were spalshed in The Kampala Sun'. There is also a video circulating on social media showing Bobi encouraging the youths to smoke weed, and telling them that he was off to Amsterdam to smoke weed freely- since it was becoming difficult to do so in Uganda.

Drug use among musicians has reached stratospheric heights during this century. It's,however, not a new thing as past musicians, like Olivier Messiaen, Hector Berlioz, have used it too- apparently, the final movement of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique was inspired by opium dreams. Writer Fitz Hugh Ludlow, who died in 1870 at the age of 34, was also a drug user. In the 14th century there was a group of artists calling themselves the 'fumeurs':they seem to have been involved in drugs.The great composer Solage was one of them. I suspect that Bebe Cool himself takes drugs sometimes- he could hardly have sung 'Kasepeki' with all that energy without at least having a puff once or twice.The question is,Is it merely a hedonistic thing? Or, do drugs and alcohol induce certain mystical tendencies, and also help with treating certain diseases?

To be sure I myself,as an adult, have never indulged in all this hedonistic abandon,and I would discourage anybody to smoke weed or take cannabis, other than for medicinal use-It must be prescribed by a doctor. I have watched documentaries where cannabis oil(CBD) seem to help with controlling epilepsy- to relieve the symptoms of serious seizures, compared to the conventional drugs.Many more medical uses have been suggested for CBD, including neuroprotection from conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), and Parkinson’s disease, Arthritis, Colitis, Liver Inflammation, Heart Disease, Diabetes,cancer, e.t.c. Actually, some people have even thrown in HIV/AIDS though i'm not sure about that.I read somewhere that the wife of former England Rugby captain, used CBD in conjuction with fasting- to treat her cancer.

I tell you what, CBD oil is expensive-please don't ask me how I know, as its not officially allowed to be sold here in the UK, but one bottle that lasts three month could cost around $200. So, I think the Uganda govt should allow marijuan/ cannabis production for medicinal use- let the Isrealis and Canadians roll in with their money. This is not only good business but it could potentially attract a lot of pharmaceutical campanies to Uganda. And please guys, cut Bobi Wine some slack- weed has probably helped him to stay healthy and be where he is today!

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba - Stalk my blog at: http://semuwemba.worldpress.com

"Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive." - Henry Steele Commager 1902-98