"It Makes Users Swim in Basins": Mututho Says Kenyan Marijuana is too Strong to be Legalized

Former Naivasha MP John Mututho has spoken out after the Kenyan Rastafari community moved to court seeking the legalization of marijuana. 

Mututho, former chairperson of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), warned that allowing the use of bhang in Kenya would be dangerous. 

The anti-drug abuse crusader argued that the type of cannabis found in Kenya is more potent than that in the European countries, where the substance is legal.

He indicated that cannabis potency differs from region to region, depending on several factors such as altitude, soil, water, and temperature.

“The cannabis used for fibre somewhere in Europe…the potency is 0.2% of THC which is narcotic. What we have in Kisii is over 10.2%…that is about 50 times more potent than what they are having in Europe. Are you saying now that you allow that one to grow and allow free usage?” he posed during an interview on KTN News.

He continued: “We need thorough research. If it has to be grown it has to be grown for a purpose and with restrictions.”

Mututho claimed that the cannabis strain grown in Kenya causes wild imaginations and hallucinations.

“We cannot allow that variety we have in Meru, Kisii, bits of Nakuru, Ethiopia…that thing that makes you so high, that thing that ruins your life. That thing that makes you look monstrous. That thing that makes you have so many hallucinations.”

“You have seen them dive into a basin thinking it’s a swimming pool. You can’t allow it,” he added.