Mozambique: President Nyusi calls for “deep reflection” on the legalization of cannabis

Mozambique is considering the legalization of cannabis, with the president calling for in-depth reflection on the issue, according to the AllAfrica news website. Following a drug policy conference in Maputo, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said he seeks “closer cooperation” with other countries on how to legalize and regulate cannabis in the country.

In addition to the presence of experts and activists from various regions around the world, such as Kitty Chopaka, who moved from Thailand, the European Union intervened “intelligently” and stated that it was “ready to help”. According to All Africa, the President, Filipe Nyusi called for a “deep reflection” on the development of policies that aim to regulate the legalization of cannabis, as the rest of the world is already adopting strategies to deal with it as a legal plant.

According to Nyusi, who spoke last Monday, August 5th, at the opening of the 3rd High-Level Meeting of the East and Southern African Commission on Drugs (ESACD), a two-day event that took place in Maputo, “more than than cooperation between countries, we need in-depth studies on how to legalize this plant.”

However, the President warned that illegal drug trafficking and consumption encourages terrorism, taking into account the extreme violence carried out by Islamic terrorists in some parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

“Preventing and combating drugs requires coordination between authorities responsible for enforcing drug laws and society. Therefore, the presence of many countries is not just to exchange experiences, but to find mechanisms on how to communicate and work together towards this end”, quotes All Africa.

However, Kitty Chopaka, who traveled from Thailand to participate in the meeting, wrote on her Instagram that Mozambique's problem appears to be the same as her country's: “When I return to Thailand, I will summarize how many countries were there and how the policy design here. But from what I see, it's not very different from us because it's the same problem: corruption, 'taking the party, taking the people' and ignorance.”

Europe ready to help Mozambique legalize cannabis

Ricardo Rosse, representative of the European Union, said that the EU is willing to support countries in the Eastern and Southern African regions in legalizing cannabis, as many countries are implementing “various models of discrimination and legalization of this plant”.

“We are ready to support all efforts by sharing experiences, good practices and lessons learned with our member states, although the European Union does not have a policy on the legalization of cannabis. Several of our member states have implemented different models,” said Rosse.

According to Europe's representative, the EU recognizes Mozambique's approaches in responding to drug-related challenges and therefore encourages consultation meetings to discuss the regulatory legal framework that could eventually lead to the legalization of cannabis: “We hope to see decision-makers politicians, experts and stakeholders to share their experiences to develop effective approaches and regulations”, he said, quoted by AllAfrica.