Hash is hash says Bobby Greenhash
‘Whether you get high to manage pain or you get high to feel good, there is no difference'
WHILE authorities and experts continue to debate the ‘strict set of guidelines’ which the issuing of medical marijuana are to follow, the lines between the term ‘medical’ and ‘recreational’ have been further blurred.
Speaking to the ZO, Bobby Greenhash, an activist for the legalisation of recreational marijuana in South Africa, said that the legalisation of medical marijuana is somewhat of a ploy by government to line their pockets as pharmaceutical companies will charge exorbitant fees for marijuana that can simply be bought on the black market.
‘The laws are changing around the use of cannabis, but they are largely closing the doors for the average citizen in terms of entering the industry, or even growing it for personal health purposes.
‘This is unfortunate, because it will have no impact on the illegal black market industry.
‘Replacing one unjust law with another will not solve the whole legalisation problem, it will just create another.
‘To possess a small quantity of cannabis for personal use should be allowed, and not treated as a crime,’ he said.
Medical marijuana given green light
On 23 November Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health announced that the Department of Health would soon regulate access to medical cannabis for prescribed health conditions.
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) Chairman, Mzukisi Grootboom, emphasised that the Medical Innovation Bill seeks to allow cannabis for medical purposes only.
‘The bill and the regulatory framework to be introduced by the Health Department do not apply to cannabis for recreational purposes, which remains illegal in South Africa,’ he said.
Greenhash said that fundamentally there would be no difference whatsoever between medical marijuana and marijuana being sold on the black market.
‘Essentially, it’s all one plant, although advanced growers will cross breed different strains – some for maximum levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), some for lower levels of THC and higher levels of Cannabanoids for medicinal products, such as edibles and oil extracts.
‘THC is the psychoactive element in cannabis, and is a critical element in how cannabis works at a medicinal level.
‘Whether you get ‘high’ to manage pain or you get ‘high’ to feel good, there is no difference.
‘Either way you will gain the medicinal value of the plant, without the side effects and addictive properties found in opiate-based medicines.’
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