Exporting Kasippu, Ganja can bring dollars: Diana

Without branding people as 'Kasippukaraya' and 'Ganja Karaya', we can receive more dollars into the country by exporting illicit liquor (moonshine) and cannabis (Ganja) to other countries in good quality, Tourism State Minister Diana Gamage said.

Addressing the media, she said that due to the increase in liquor prices, people have begun distilling illicit liquor (moonshine) in their homes, and it has increased by up to 500 percent.

Therefore, it is required to reduce the liquor prices to stop the trend of home distilling of illicit liquor, she said.

"The minds of people have been brainwashed, and the people who use illicit liquor and cannabis (Ganja) are branded as 'Kasippukarayas and Ganja Karayas'. People do not understand the value of illicit liquor and cannabis. Illicit liquor in Sri Lanka is similar to 'Vodka' in Russia and 'Sake' in Japan," the state minister said.

"The moonshine distillation is done by using pure fruits. If we do this on a large scale as a quality product, we can export it to other countries. From there, we can get dollars where we cannot imagine," she said.

I will definitely raise this in parliament as a proposal. Usually, I bring these kinds of proposals to parliament, she said.