Malawi passes medical cannabis legislation

BLANTYRE, Malawi: Malawi on Thursday became the latest African country to legalise the growing of cannabis, a crop that could supplement the tobacco industry, which has been the country´s economic mainstay. Lawmakers unanimously passed the new law legalising the farming, importing and exporting of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use, according to documents seen by AFP. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and has long relied on tobacco which brings in around 60 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Several countries have decriminalised the growing and use of medicinal cannabis. The new law establishes a regulatory authority which will be tasked with issuing licences to cultivate, process, store, sell, export and distribute cannabis.