Windhoek grapples with legalisation of marijuana

Government agencies are conflicted over legalising marijuana, with Namibia’s national medicine regulator open to the plant's use if the laws are amended. Although the cultivation of the crop for medical, industrial or recreational use is unlawful in Namibia, the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act, 2003 provides for people to apply for a licence to cultivate it. The Namibian reports that police are opposed to legalisation while the Namibia Medicines Regulatory Council believes there must first be an investigation into the issue. ‘Council will not take this issue in isolation as there is other legislation that needs to be amended if cannabis is to be legalised. Legally, if there is no collective decision, individuals can challenge that the act is not wholly implemented,’ the council said in a statement.