Buzzby

Smoke Out the Drug Barons
allAfrica.com | 03/03/2005

Uganda has been cited among the leading growers of the illegal drug, cannabis.

Cannabis goes by the Luganda name, enjaga. It is a drug made from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant.

Whether it has been proved or not, the whistle is blown.

The 2004 annual United Nations International Narcotic Control Board reports say Uganda is one of the East African countries where cannabis constitutes a significant commercial crop.

Cannabis or enjaga sometimes grows wildly, but if it is deliberately cultivated for commercial purposes, then there is cause for alarm.

According to an anti-narcotics officer, tens of thousands of acres of cannabis are present in Uganda, where people have resorted to growing the drug as a cash crop. If the officer's claims are anything to go by, it means somebody is not doing their job.

The argument that Ugandan farmers are frustrated by the poor yields of the traditional cash crops, cotton and coffee and lately vanilla and therefore have to find alternatives, is unacceptable.

Cannabis is destructive to the individual who takes it, and ultimately to the society he lives in.

When you imagine the rate of crime here, the last thing you would want to hear is that Uganda is actually growing enjaga. In fact we have to do proper research to find out whether increasing cases of defilement, rape, robbery, murder and many other crimes are not fuelled by abuse of drugs like enjaga. It might well be found out that the grisly murders and defilers of months-old babies commit their heinous crimes under the influence of such drugs.

It becomes worse when Uganda gets involved in more refined and deadlier drugs like heroine.

We should not handle the smoking and trafficking of drugs with kid gloves. Everyone should be drafted to help in cracking down on this social curse that seems to have invaded our society quietly but surely.

Parliament should draft stiffer laws and penalties for drug dealers, and our police and numerous security agencies should not only get deployed to flush out rebels, but should be deployed against drug takers and traffickers. All exit and entry points should also be securely policed to break the transit chain through Uganda.

If there are any privileged members in our society benefitting from this deadly trade, as is wont to be, they should be exposed for the world to see. Let this country assert itself strongly in the fight against any drug activity.

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killer12382

Reefer Madness goes to Africa should be the title to this story. Beside that, why do they grow pot? Because its a weed that grows easily and makes the farmer a huge profit. Duh. There is alot more on the Ugandan crisis list that is alot more serious than growing pot.....like NO FOOD. People with no food are not going to smoke pot.....what are they going to do when the munchies hit?