High time to legalise medical marijuana, according to MP

While other Members of Parliament (MP) were out gunning the President on 19 February, an ailing Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini used his opportunity to appeal to the President in an impassioned speech for the decriminalisation of medical marijuana (dagga).

Oriani-Ambrosini was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in 2013 and has been absent from parliament for a long period. In his absence he experimented with various substances to ease his condition, some of those apparently bordering on the absurd.

His plea was met positively by the ruling party and he received a standing ovation from his colleagues.

“It hurts me to see you in the state you are in,” said Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Public Service and Administration, “I had a word with the Minister of Health and he indicated to me that we are very keen to be following up on discussion and research around the world on the issue of the potential of decriminalising medical marijuana. We are a caring society.” [sic]

Various other groups such as the ironically named Anti Drug Alliance South Africa have been in the news recently for advocating not only the legalisation of dagga but all drugs under a controlled system.

This raises the question that every citizen, and residents of the drug-ravaged West Rand, soon might have to ask themselves – should medical marijuana be legalised or not?

The Record gathered some arguments in the hope that it would spark healthy debate and consideration among our readers. Next week’s edition of the Record will feature the arguments for and against the legalisation of medical marijuana.