Rwanda could be the pioneer country in legalization and standardization of medical use of cannabis in Africa.
It was in July of last year, when Dr. Richard Sezibera, the health minister, introduced a draft law to Parliament setting out the benefits of cannabis as therapeutic substance and advocating its legal prescription.
“The objective of this bill is to contribute to the protection of the population while ensuring that drugs and psychotropic substances are exclusively available for scientific and medical purposes,” minister Sezibera said. The bill states that cannabis is administered only in medical institutions for chronic pain and other major diseases.
If the bill is adopted, Rwanda would join a group of progressive states like The Netherlands, Israel, Canada and California, where patients are allowed by prescription to own a small amount of cannabis for symptomatic relief of chronic debilitating diseases such as neuropathic pain or side effects of chemotherapy.
On the issue of legalization in Rwanda, is available this excellent article in The East African:
Left: Minister Richard Sezibera // Right: Police officers from Central Police Station Kampala and Kakiri Police Station set ablaze Marijuana uprooted from a garden in Kabagano Village, Kakiri Sub County on Tuesday 23rd September 2008. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE
