CLARIFY CANNABIS POLICY, GREEN PARTY DEMANDS

BY ADRIAN MWANZA GREEN Party president Peter Sinkamba has said that they are still waiting for government on the way forward concerning the growing of Marijuana in the country. Mr Sinkamba in an interview said that a lot of factors had stalled the process and that they were just waiting for the new dawn government to give the road map. He said he had engaged the ministry of Agriculture to ensure that they rolled out the process but that a number of factors hampered the process. Mr Sinkamba said the introduction of the ministry of Green Economy was a plus and gave the industry a boost because they would be looking at their plight. ‘’The hemp industry is worth millions of dollars in the US and its only right that we tap into it so that the country can benefit from it and be able to get Foreign exchange,’’ he said. He said he was hoping that they could expedite the process before the rain season so that they could have ample time to import seeds. Mr Sinkamba said that he was hoping that the government would not be rigid. Meanwhile, Ministry of Agriculture director Gerald Mwale said that they had engaged hemp growers and that they would issue a statement next week. He said he would not delve in the details but that everything was going as planned and that the minister would advise on the next course of action. “For now what I can say is that the minister will issue a ministerial statement over the matter next week so the nation will know,’’ he said.