MBABANE: Phiwayinkosi Mabuza, the then Minister of Housing and Urban Development who openly advocated for the legalization of cannabis in the country has welcomed a research by scientists on possible ways of using the plant to fight COVID-19 as reported by the New York Post.
Speaking to this Swaziland News in an interview on Tuesday morning, the former Minister said he was happy that the world was now actively researching on how the herb can be useful in treating the coronavirus and advised that the country should speed-up the process legalizing it.
“This shows that when we advocated for the legalization of the plant in Parliament, we were not crazy, it can possibly be used to heal many diseases like the current COVID-19 that forced us into a lockdown. We might not be sure because they are currently doing a research, but there are possibilities that the herb can be a solution” said the former Minister.
The former Minister said it was unfortunate that the plant was only branded as a dangerous drug in the eyes of the eSwatini people, yet it could be used as a treatment for many diseases.
“It’s very unfortunate that this plant was branded only as a drug, yet it can be used as a treatment for many diseases, only proper regulations are needed. Some people smoke glue, you cannot then say because of those who smoke it, it must be illegal” said the ex-Minister.
Mabuza said as the Swaziland Cannabis Association(SCA) they were in the process of influencing the legalization of the plant so it can be used for medical purposes, he constituently maintained that with proper regulations, its abuse as a drug shall be put under control.
Cannabis