The cannabis business is booming, and some have sought to create a professional outfit with a business plan and licensing in tow.
According to Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’ i, those seeking licenses for cannabis production plants are never going to have their way. Giving a public address today (7.06.2019), the esteemed Cabinet Secretary said, “we have an application on my desk right now at the Ministry of Interior, by some lunatic who is saying they need a license to build a factory in Kenya that processes cannabis for pharmaceutical use.” As the crowd reacted to the startling information shared by the headline-maker, Matiang’ i went on to question the state of the government and society that made it possible for business proprietors to question the rule of law and the state’s position on cannabis and its usage, pharmaceutical or otherwise.
Matiang’ i went on to say “which government will accept those things? It will not happen.”
Despite the fact that Matiang’i has shot down the request for a cannabis processing plant, many are making major financial gain from exploiting the medicinal benefits from the cannabis plant. In the United States of America, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Farm Bill into law in December of last year, which legalized hemp a plant that’s roughly identical to marijuana but doesn’t contain THC, a psychoactive compound in marijuana nationwide according to the Business Insider. The same report points out Ten states and Washington, DC, have now legalized marijuana for recreational use for adults over 21. And 33 states have legalized medical marijuana.
The struggling Kenyan economy could stand to gain from the bankable benefits of commercial cannabis farming for pharmacurtical use. According to research by the BBC, large corporations now see the cannabis market as a new business frontier with the endgame being a win-win for all.
various corporations have expressed interest. For example, Altria, which owns cigarette brands including Marlboro, has made a $1.86bn (£1.46bn) investment in a Canadian cannabis company. This is the equivalent of trillions of shillings that could lift the Kenyan economy out of debt and into prosperity.
A hard stance against commercial cannabis may have to soften as its potential financial benefits are difficult to ignore.
