Fact-Checking Wajackoyah’s Marijuana Economics, Do the Figures Add Up?

The Roots party presidential candidate Prof. George Wajackoyah has sparked a hilarious debate after launching his manifesto that advocates for the export of Cannabis, Hyena’s testicles, and venom from snakes.

The presidential hopeful and his running mate stated that the Roots Party government will legalize Marijuana for medicinal purposes to generate revenue.

In an interview on Citizen TV, Wajackoyah argued that if Kenyans are allowed to grow bhang for export, that would likely increase money circulation in the economy, claiming that a sack can be sold for $3.2 million.

But does his economics of Ganja add up, whether legal or not? Soko Directory fact-checked Wajackoyah’s claims and came up with the following conclusions:

1. A sack of Marijuana can be sold for $3.2 million

In an interview with Citizen Tv, Wajackoyah stated that there were special sacks made scientifically for Marijuana and that these sacks cost $3.2 million. The first take is to look at how Marijuana is packaged.

According to the associate director of the nonpartisan Rand Drug Policy Research Center in the US, Dr Bryce Pardo, cannabis for legal retail or medical sale is packaged in special ways to make the product inaccessible to children and to safeguard against tampering.

Bryce Pardo further says that this does not make it that expensive.

Other experts, such as Prof Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer and the economic studies director at Harvard University, believe that the commodity is just like tobacco. You can package it in a little tin, a zip-locking bag, or in the form of marijuana cigarettes.

What about the Numbers?

According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, the street price of Marijuana in Kenya was between 20,000 shillings ($170) and 40,000 shillings ($340) a kilogram in 2019.

According to Pardo, since the State of Colorado in the US legalized weed in 2012, its prices have fallen from $1,316 in January 2020 to $799 in April 2022 per pound (454 grams) of the retail bud, which is the plant’s flowering stage.

That means the $3.2 million quoted by Wajackoyah could buy about 1,818 kilograms of legal Colorado marijuana.

Pardo has therefore dismissed Wajackoyah’s claims citing that there are no special scientifically made sacks for marijuana packaging, especially for such a large amount.

2. Canada last year alone got US$487 billion out of Marijuana

According to a public health physician and a fellow at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Dr Daniel Myran, these numbers are inaccurate and hundreds of times higher than the value of cannabis sold in Canada.

The claimed amount is even higher than Canada’s total budgetary spending for its 2020/21 financial year.

A dashboard from Canada’s data agency for the most recent numbers on the retail sales of legal recreational cannabis products shows that in 2021 the total sales were CA$3.835 billion (about US$2.98 billion).

The country also allows legal sales of medical cannabis, whose total sales in 2021 were roughly CA$458 million.

These figures indicate that Canada did not generate US$487 billion from Marijuana in 2021, as claimed by Wajackoyah.

3. The US, two weeks ago (May), decriminalized Marijuana from being a federal offence

The US House of Representatives approved a bill to decriminalize Marijuana On 1 April 2021. However, the bill is still before the US senate, and until it is passed by the latter and assented to by the president, Marijuana remains illegal in the US.

4. Zimbabwe, South Africa, Morocco, and Rwanda just legalized Marijuana

In 2018, David Parirenyatwa, then Zimbabwe’s health minister, announced the legalization of cannabis production and issued regulations guiding the production of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes.

Among the regulations to be adhered to by the producers include getting licensed and following strict production, distribution, and security protocols.

However, cannabis for recreational use is still illegal in the country.

Meanwhile, while it is legal to consume Marijuana in private, public consumption is still prohibited in South Africa.

For Morocco, marijuana production and use have existed for years. But recreational use is still prohibited, and regulations guide its production and use.

According to the Rwanda government’s spokesperson Yolande Makolo, Marijuana is illegal in Rwanda. There is only a recent exception for commercial cultivation of medical cannabis, which is solely for export.

Wajackoyah’s claims might be valid but have been presented misleadingly.

5. Israel is the biggest grower of Marijuana in the world

According to the International Narcotics Control Board, the United Kingdom was the biggest producer of cannabis in 2020, with 238.7 tons, or 36.7 percent of the global market. Israel was the fourth-largest producer with 24.6 tons.

Moreover, a 2021 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime shows that Morocco has the biggest area under cannabis cultivation. This was 47,500 hectares in 2018 but dropped to 21,048 hectares in 2019.

6. The president of Malawi is now asking Malawians to uproot tobacco and grow Marijuana

To begin with, the Malawian president has never called for the uprooting of tobacco. What he said is that said his vision is to diversify agricultural production in the country.

On 12 May 2022, during his state of the nation address, Chakwera said Malawi’s reliance on tobacco was seriously threatened by declining demand worldwide.

“We need to diversify and grow other cash crops like cannabis which was legalized last year for industrial and medicinal use,” Said Chakwera.

Wajackoyah’s claim is therefore misleading.

Source  Africa Check