Ganja rehabilitated?

It is reputed that following the Emancipation Proclamation, each year as the anniversary of the historic day came, freed female slaves would don what was considered to be their best garbs, (remember the context of poor deprived persons) and strut about uttering the words “all ah we is lady now”. In other words, they were asserting that in spite of their deprived conditions of life, they were equal to their former slave mistresses.

Perhaps the group of agricultural producers, who call themselves “traditional cultivators”, must feel themselves in a similar position following the reported success of last weekend’s Cannabliss Festival, exhibiting the medicinal value of the much-maligned marijuana plant and the economic contribution of its local cultivators.

The Festival was deemed an outstanding success by its organizers and drew wide-ranging participation on an international and regional level. Participants touted the potential for further research, as well the financial returns to the region. This was no”Ganja festival of Rastas” as some stubborn persons in our midst continue to insist. Perhaps the medicinal benefits of the research and development being carried out may one day prove beneficial to one or more of these stubbornly prejudiced folks.

It is not that marijuana has now been fully rehabilitated, for there are still quite formidable legal hurdles and trade obstacles in the way. To these we must add the lingering prejudice arising from ignorance and discrimination against Ganja growers, consumers and Rastafarians. Many of these have not gone away, the culprits preferring to remain in their cocoons, blind to reality.

It is unfortunate that wide public awareness of Ganja only came to the forefront when marijuana smoking first gained international scrutiny alongside the spread of the consumption of dangerous drugs manufactured from heroin and opium. Before that, older farmers who farmed”in the hills” had long been taking a recreational smoke after a hard day’s work.

But when Ganja became popularised here it was associated with Black Power, Rastafarian and Revolution. Unfortunately, the society leaders unleashed a vicious campaign blaming it for every imaginable evil as the corrupter of the youth. The newly armed police were unleashed and harassment, beating and imprisonment were the order of the day. Misguided youths who sought a “high” from the mandrax pills given to calm violent, mental patients were accused of being Ganja drugged. Repression was supported by ignorance. There is, still, a body of scientific evidence about the negative effects of the use of marijuana, especially on the young brain, and there will continue to be the argument regarding its wholesale legalisation for recreational purposes.

We, however, have come a long way since the repressive days and perhaps the society- the government, the church , the police and the judiciary should at least offer words of regret if they cannot swallow apologies. A lot of dirty water has gone under the bridge, but we must now look forward. We now have an opportunity to demonstrate the value of this plant to the society, its economic and medicinal benefits. As we congratulate our local Cannabis Authority for its resolute efforts, and the traditional cultivators for their courage and persistence, let us ensure that these cultivators are appropriately rewarded.