THE WONDERS OF CANNABIS- YES, WEED!

High like a kite on a Sunday morning, Johnny is having what he will describe as the best feeling of his life. It is a feeling of being lifted above this distasteful world into blissful heavenly realms, he describes. "Hurry! We are going to be late for church," his mum yells to his younger sister while totally ignoring Johnny. His exhausted mum has given up on convincing him about going to church or in fact, convincing him about anything in life. Think about it, who needs to go to church when one can literally see heaven's gate and hear angels singing? The only problem is the angels Johnny sees aren't singing "Hallelujah" or any such "holy" choruses but are grooving to black metal in mass hysteria. One part of Johnny's brain says it's not real; the other is convinced it is- at least he wants it to be. It is to Johnny a proper (temporary) escape from the sham that is now his life.

It is difficult to determine whether Johnny's current life state should be attributed to his cannabis dependence or the aftermath of seeing his twin brother bleed to death in his hands following a motor crash. The crash was a life altering event for Johnny. He suffered from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a terrible anxiety disorder that was not amenable to prescribed drugs. His grades plummeted as he could hardly concentrate in school. Then, Fred a top student in Johnny's class introduced Johnny to Cannabis. Within a few weeks of smoking it, he found out his PTSD and anxiety disorder were under control. When he takes it before reading, his head clears up and he is able to assimilate faster. His grades did in fact improve tremendously. But Johnny soon became dependent on it and would do anything to secure the bag- bag of weed. He started to hallucinate, seeing angels groove to black metal and other weird stuffs. He started to lose concentration in his studies again, and his Blood pressure at age 25 was through the roof. You are now probably wondering how a drug can be so good and yet bad.

Cannabis is a an infamous drug from the cannabis plant which is believed to have been in use as far back as 3500 BC chiefly for medicinal and spiritual purposes. With various aliases such as weed, skunk, pot, Igbo, the trail of controversy that has followed Cannabis is majorly due to its recreational use and the psychoactive effect it produces. The cannabis plant contains over 500 compounds with the major identified constituents being 9-delta Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD). CBD has positive impacts on the brain including enhancing learning, anti-anxiety effects and antipsychotic effects (who would have thought?!). THC on the other hand is the substance in cannabis that gets you “high”. It is responsible for effects of impairing learning, producing psychosis and increasing anxiety.

There are 3 varieties of the Cannabis plant viz. Cannabis sativa, C. indica and C. ruderalis each with varying levels of THC and CBD. The higher the CBD, the better the variety (in terms of beneficial effects) and vice versa. Contrariwise, the higher the THC the more harmful the variety. Hemp is a non-intoxicating variety of Cannabis sativa, containing very low levels of THC. The “high potency” cannabis as defined by cannabis with high THC levels is associated with psychotic disorder while the low potency varieties did not increase the rates of psychosis.

So let’s get this straight, Cannabis is not a harmless drug as some paint it. There are various harmful physical and psychological health effects of cannabis which includes but not limited to: anxiety and panic, impaired attention, increased risk of psychotic symptoms, impairment of short-term memory, impairment of driving ability, increased pulse rate and blood pressure. But as explained earlier, these effects are dependent on the potency of cannabis one consumes, with low potency varieties producing almost none of these adverse effects. Respiratory complaints such as chronic cough, excess mucus secretion, wheezing are more of irritant effects of smoking on the airway rather than inherent toxic effects of cannabis. Cannabis has not been linked to increased incidence of lung cancer compared to Tobacco.

“Cannabis wasn’t made illegal because it caused “insanity, criminality and death” as Harry J. Anslinger claimed, but for political, classist, racist and monopolistic reasons.”

Cannabis addiction and Cannabis use disorder is endemic in African societies but its negative effects are often overinflated in the eye of the prejudiced. There are other substances which are considered legal that are more addictive and lethal than cannabis will ever come close to. Evidence to determine whether Cannabis increases aggressiveness is mixed, with many confounding variables. Many couth, well-suited fellows are silent consumers of cannabis. Yes, the aggressiveness of that tout in your neighbourhood is better explained by Ogogoro, codeine, tramadol, adulterated weed (mixed with other hard drugs) or even an innate antisocial personality disorder. Concerted vilification and demonization of cannabis which had long been known for its medicinal and economic benefits is why its harmful effects are blown out of proportion. Cannabis wasn’t made illegal because it caused “insanity, criminality and death” as Harry J. Anslinger claimed, but for political, classist, racist and monopolistic reasons. In the US for example, it was an attempt to control Mexican immigration and to boost profits of large pharmaceutical companies.

Scientists, Physicians and economists have once again brought the beneficial effects of cannabis to the front burner as it was in the ages before. Some of its health benefits include:

-Relief of chronic pain in patients suffering from a wide variety of diseases such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, arthritis, multiple sclerosis.

-Diabetes prevention and regulation: Cannabis is proven to help with body’s regulation of insulin to effectively manage calories.

-Eating disorders: Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are very devastating medical illnesses which have been shown to improve with Cannabis use due to its hunger-enhancing effect and psychological benefits.

-Drug-resistant pediatric epilepsy: Through the use of cannabis, children who were before condemned to a life of disability can now have a go at life.

-An aid for mental health conditions: Cannabis has been proven effective for a wide range of mental health conditions including PTSD, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, antisocial personality disorder, autism etc.

So, that tout in your neighbourhood with an antisocial personality disorder may be taking weed to alleviate his symptoms. Johnny wasn’t a rascally element who didn’t want anything out of life other than being a junky. He was a sufferer who was “self-medicating” and then unfortunately cut in the web. This web is avoidable if we adopt new ways of considering issues like this.

Writing this article is treading a tightrope, but I will take that risk if it will open our minds to new possibilities. Much as I would really love to say everything nature gives us is good, I will be modest and rather say there is an inherent good in everything nature gives –or rather throws- at us. We simply need to find amazing ways to harness or tweak them. The problem isn’t often what nature offers us but how we choose to understand it, interact with it and use it. Men have worshipped the sun, but we have not for that reason attempt to extinguish the sun. Men have bowed down to trees, but there was no campaign for massive deforestation. Instead, locals and scientist looked into trees and found herbs and medicines that have been saving lives. Smallpox was defeated by nature’s cowpox (though also a disease causing virus) and the technology of vaccination derived from it has prevented billions from premature death. People get high sniffing petrol, but we aren’t going to ban petrol, or are we?

“A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy showed that stigmatizing drugs is a stumbling block to effective policy-making that will help combat the scourge of hard drugs”

Rather than see cannabis in dark, gloomy lenses, we can see it as a wonder drug with some untoward effects which -if we allow- can be tweaked to our advantage. And as with every other drug, we caution against self-medication and overdosing. Criminalization isn’t often an effective way to handle substance abuse. This is further confounding for a drug with many life-changing beneficial effects. A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy showed that stigmatizing drugs is a stumbling block to effective policy-making that will help combat the scourge of hard drugs. According to the NDLEA Act of 1989, marijuana cultivation carries a possible life sentence, while usage carries a 15-25 year prison sentence. Despite the harsh and stern punishment, marijuana use in Nigeria is widespread. Criminalization of substance use gives a false sense of security and causes us to be laid back in implementing better strategies.

Proven ways to drive down substance use is through educative efforts, provision of (unbiased) information and harm reduction strategies. We ought to push for cannabis products with high level of Cannabidiol (CBD) which opposes the untoward effects of THC. Research has in fact shown that an effective way to treat cannabis use disorder is through prescribing doses of CBD, the non-intoxicating constituent of cannabis. Smoking and vaping can be replaced with less harmful routes of consumption such as edibles (brownies, cookies, candies). A major part of the fight against substance abuse is the eradication of factors that cause people to seek indiscriminate recreational use of substance. These include poverty, unemployment, toxic home, school and work environment.

An important part of this discussion is the business potential of cannabis to the African continent. With countries like England, US, Canada, Spain and Israel decriminalising medicinal and recreational use of cannabis, its economic value has been increasing astronomically. Voices in the global market are anticipating a cannabis boom in the near future. The international market for legal marijuana is expected to reach USD 146 billion by 2025.

“We seem to get lost on this issue of getting high…We are not promoting smoking, we are promoting the industry, we are promoting cleaning up the environment, we are promoting creating a new revenue stream for the government. We are promoting medicines that are far better than opioids – medicines that cannot kill you”

African countries are also getting in on the action. Lesotho once a major illicit producer is now aggressively embracing commercial cannabis granting licenses for local production. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Ghana, the first in West Africa have also followed suit. Hemp association of Ghana’s president Nana Kwaku Agyeman said, “We seem to get lost on this issue of getting high…We are not promoting smoking, we are promoting the industry, we are promoting cleaning up the environment, we are promoting creating a new revenue stream for the government. We are promoting medicines that are far better than opioids – medicines that cannot kill you.” Foreign investors have poured in tens of millions of dollars into the African market due to the low cost of production.

There is little talk in Nigeria about harnessing the potential of cannabis though Nigeria remains Africa’s most sizable cannabis market valued at USD 15.3 billion. With an ailing economy, with dwindling revenue from crude oil, one would expect more proactiveness. Other than the direct economic benefit, legalization of marijuana cultivation will create jobs for youths. Less unemployment and poverty will in turn reduce harmful use of cannabis. Also, since it remains an illicit drug, it makes black market prices higher and attractive to illicit producers and distributors who facilitate its access for the wrong usage. Legalizing it allows government control its production (through which non-toxic variants can be promoted) and distribution, create a regulated market, beating down black market influence and prices, thereby rendering it unattractive for illicit distribution.

A major caution for Africa is to ensure control of the entire value chain – from production to retail store – rather than extracting it out of Africa with no local benefit. This is the mistake being made with solid minerals and agro-products sourced in Africa. No doubt, cannabis value chain is large due to its various medicinal, industrial and recreational uses. However, government must ensure an equitable industry that strengthens local structures while encouraging participation of international investors.

This was written to encourage individuals especially stakeholders to have those difficult conversations that would foster new ways of solving recalcitrant problems. Despite the tainted history of cannabis, it is a wonder drug that holds great medical, industrial and economic benefit for the future.