Uganda exports 400kg of marijuana to Germany

Uganda last week exported 400 kilogrammes of medical marijuana to Germany, the fourth delivery to foreign countries since the government permitted the business.

A kilogramme of medical cannabis (MC), a product claimed to be effective in treating a wide range of deadly diseases, including cancer, costs around 4,300 euros (Sh11 million). This is according to information from www.gmp-compliance.org a website run by a German-based training institution on good manufacturing practices for health products makers.

Mr Benjamin Cadet, one of the directors at Industrial Hemp Uganda Ltd, the company licenced by the government to grow and process medical cannabis, said they exported the products last Saturday, October 16.

He said they have capacity to produce 30 tonnes of medical marijuana annually but that Covid-19 has been affecting their business.

Mr Cadet said they want to start selling some of their finest medical marijuana products in Ugandan markets with the main goal of making the country a global tourism hub for medical cannabis.

“We have developed 10 products of medical cannabis that we have submitted to National Drug Authority for approval so that Ugandan patients can benefit other than exporting to other countries,” he told this newspaper, adding that they have not yet received a response from the authority.

“We want to thank the President Museveni for the support and providing a conducive environment that enable individual innovations in medical cannabis. Medical cannabis industry is good for the country’s economy and will make Uganda to be one of the best medical cannabis producers in the world,” he said.

But Dr David Nahamya, the secretary at NDA, told this newspaper that he would check whether the company has actually submitted the said products for approval.

“We have capacity to assess and approve the [medical cannabis] products if they are drugs,” he said. He didn’t get back by press time.

The company had in March 2020 exported 600 kilogrammes of medical marijuana to Israel and in January 2021, it also exported a total of 1.7 tonnes to the same country.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 2015, allows cultivation, production and exportation of medical marijuana and mandates the Health minister to issue written consent for medical marijuana.

The government has only approved one company to do MC business despite more than 20 companies that expressed interest in the lucrative business.

Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Health ministry spokesperson, said discussions are ongoing on whether to licence more companies to grow and export medical marijuana.

The government has already licenced Industrial Hemp (U) Ltd to grow and export medical marijuana. The company is currently working together with Pharma Limited, one of the biggest Israeli cannabis firm on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange