The Minister for Internal Affairs, Hon. Kahinda Otafiire, has re-echoed his stance on the legalisation of medical marijuana and khat during his appearance before the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs on Friday July 14, 2023.

Chaired by Hon. Wilson Kajwengye, the committee is scrutinising the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Bill, 2023, which in its current form lists khat and marijuana, among others, in the schedule of prohibited substances.

The minister was, however, quick to elaborate that he does not support recreational marijuana use.

“I am advocating for the legalisation of cannabis for medical use; the other cannabis of my friends, the rastas, I also do not support,” he said.

On khat, commonly known as miraa, Otafiire said Uganda could be losing a lot of money on the international market for prohibiting the sale of the crop, compared to Kenya, which he said, is minting millions of dollars exporting the chewy leaves.

“My colleagues in Kenya tell me they get US$120 million from exporting miraa to Somalia; US$120 million is a quarter of what we get from coffee exports,” he said.

Uganda, he added, is in near isolation on the ban of miraa, against international practice. “Miraa is not a banned substance by the international community; it is a tradeable substance,” he said.

Hon. Kajwengye queried the criteria government will use to separate the legal marijuana from the illegal one, saying this could create confusion and complicate the work of law enforcement agencies.

“Ugandans will not tell the one that is dangerous from the one that isn’t; how do you tell people out there that this is good, this is bad?; it is all cannabis, it impairs the mind…” he said.