Uganda should fast track legislation on medical marijuana production so as to give the country a competitive edge over other countries in the region, Rajiv Ruparelia the Managing Director of Premier Hemp has said.
Registered in July 2018, Premier Hemp is a member of the Ruparelia Group of Companies, one of East Africa’s biggest conglomerates with interests in financial services, real estate, education services, hospitality, agriculture and media/broadcasting.
The group plans to leverage its vast agriculture expertise- they own Rosebud Limited and Premier Roses who together control about 40% of Uganda’s flower export business, to grow Medical Marijuana on a commercial scale. The company is one of over 20 companies that have applied for a production license that is pending cabinet clearance of policy guidelines on the production and processing for export of medical marijuana.
Section 11 (1) of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 2016 says that: “No person shall cultivate any prohibited plant from which a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance may be extracted, without the written consent of the Minister responsible for health.”
The ministry has however been reluctant to grant licenses, pending cabinet passing of policy guidelines.
While appearing on SanyuFm on Saturday, February 08th, Rajiv Ruparelia said that the private sector was waiting upon Cabinet’s guidelines to be able to make the necessary investments, creating several jobs.
“It is a whole new industry, a different ball game,” he said.
“We are hoping that government can pass these laws soon because it is going to be a game changer for Uganda. It is going to inspire new industries to evolve…it is going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in Uganda,” he said.
He also added that while as a new sector they expected to have some challenges, he said it was important the country comes together for the good of the economy.
Pearl Bank Supports IUIU Students with Water Tanks and Food During Ramadan and Women’s Month“Yes we are going to have a whole new challenges. There are organizations who are fighting it, but this is all so unnecessary because our primary goal should be economic development- making our country better for our people,” he said.
Rajiv who said that Uganda’s parliament and cabinet had shown good leadership by leapfrogging the rest of the region by creating the relevant laws in 2016, it was now time to hit the ground rolling.
“We need to be forward thinking as a country; we don’t have to keep following every other nation. I am very proud of our cabinet here. I am very proud of our parliament here because they are taking this initiative and driving it faster than our neighbours,” he said.
“Uganda has one of the best climates, has an available labour force and availability of land and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be doing it,” he further reiterated.
Global Research firm Nielsen predicts that by 2025, sales of all legalized cannabis in the U.S. alone will reach $41 billion.
Growing of cannabis for treating severe medical conditions like cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and other neurological conditions is already happening in Uganda.
It is estimated that about 20 companies have applied to grow marijuana for medical reasons but only one, Industrial Hemp (U) Ltd, is said to be the only one licensed so far.
