Raila Junior Urges Gov't to Legalize Use and Sale of Bhang

Raila Junior, the son of opposition leader Raila Odinga has urged the government to legalize the use and sale of bhang.

Junior, who was reacting to the arrest of Njoroge Mbugua on Wednesday for planting the illegal substance on his parcel of land in Limuru, Kiambu County, said there is need for a serious discourse around its legalization.

“Serious discussion has to be held on the legalization and control of cannabis sativa, and entrepreneurs like MR Mbugua in their business and religious conquests #LegalizeIt,” Raila Junior said in a tweet.

Upon questioning by police, Mbugua said he had been planting marijuana since 2016 after a command from 'god.'

“This is my work alone and it is ‘god’ who instructed me to plant. I went to the heavens and came back because there are a lot of people who use it,” he said.

In August, economist David Ndii also called for legalization of bhang arguing that the government has allowed use of cigarettes which are more dangerous to human health than marijuana.

"I was addicted to cigarettes, struggled a lot to quit. I smoked a lot of pot [bhang] in my youth, never had cravings or withdrawal symptoms. "You’d have to smoke a hell of a lot of pot to get addicted, if at all," Ndii said.

"Why is marijuana (non-additive medicinal) illegal and cigarettes (addictive carcinogen) legal. Because ordinary people can roll their own joints, but cigarettes are made by big capitalists, that's why," he claimed.