Ndii: I smoked bhang in High School
Economist David Ndii has confessed to smoking bhang (cannabis) while in high school, but still topped his class.
While voicing his opinion on the legalization of marijuana, Ndii argued the drug should be decriminalized since people still smoke it anyway.
“Marijuana was criminalized by colonialists. It follows that if we decriminalize it, the crime of smoking bhang will cease to exist. I smoked bhang occasionally in secondary school (age 12-16), still topped my school in O-Level exams. #LegalizeMarijuana,” he tweeted.
According to Ndii, there is no relationship between weed and one’s status in society.
“What’s the cause and what’s effect? Is it marijuana that made their lives miserable, or did their lives become miserable, and they took to smoking weed to cope, or is there in fact no relationship at all since marijuana smoking is prevalent in all strata of society?” he asked.
Adding; “Civil liberty is a most important issue. I cannot think of a more important issue in society than political rights and civil liberties. Criminalization of marijuana and traditional liquor is a continuation of colonialism.”
His sentiments came just a day after the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) linked the current incidents of school indiscipline to drug abuse.
The new wave witnessed in the country since January has seen an upsurge in cases of arson, riots, and attacks on teachers.
“Just three weeks after the re-opening of schools following their closure after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in March last year, there have been heightened cases of indiscipline among Primary and Secondary school students and majority of these cases are attributed to drug abuse,” the NACADA board Chairperson Prof. Mabel Imbuga said, in a statement sent to Newsrooms.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has since warned that students found culpable for such cases will not go unpunished.
“Learners will not commit crimes and walk scot-free. We shall ensure that these situations are neutralized before they escalate,” the Cabinet Secretary said last month.
Not even a stern warning by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations of the consequences of such actions seems to calm an already worsening situation.
Magoha has even hinted at re-introducing corporal punishment, but pundits have warned against such a move, saying it has both short- and long-term effects on a student.
“They must be caned and we shall authorize teachers to punish them,” he said while speaking in Kisii County, one of the hard-hit areas in the country.