President urged to reverse decision on Cannabis cultivation

• SLMA refutes the idea that cannabis cultivation is a “miracle cure” for economic problems
• Prices of cannabis products have fallen steeply in world markets due to oversupply

Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) requested President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in writing, to reverse the decision to allow Cannabis cultivation in Sri Lanka.

The SLMA, which is the academic body representing all the medical professionals in Sri Lanka, said it is extremely concerned by the announcement that foreign companies will be allowed to grow cannabis in Sri Lanka.

“We strongly urge the government to reverse this decision. There are many compelling reasons for this,” it wrote.

The letter has been signed by Dr. Anula Wijesundere, who is the Chairperson- Expert Committee of SLMA on Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drugs and Dr. Surantha Perera, who is the President.

The term “medicinal use” that has been used when announcing this decision is misleading. Approved use for cannabis and related products, even in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, is confined to a very few and rare conditions, according to the SLMA.

The quantities of cannabis required to produce such medicines in use and for further research does not necessitate it to be grown in large tracts of land in Sri Lanka, when other countries are currently producing hundreds of tons of this substance for the same purpose. In fact, the amount of cannabis grown for medicinal and pharmaceutical purposes has significantly decreased since 2021, according to the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB), it said.

It is well known that there is a concerted global effort by the cannabis multinationals to expand their markets to offset the billion-dollar losses that they have suffered during the past. In countries where they have perceived resistance, their strategy is taking a stepwise approach, which will eventually lead to dismantling restrictions in place over time.

“Allowing cannabis cultivation for “export” should be considered such a “beneficial” sounding initial step, which will unlock their road to success. This decision is therefore the first breach of the dam that protected Sri Lankans from the scourge of widespread use of cannabis,” they said.

They also stated that prices of cannabis products have fallen steeply during the last decade in world markets due to oversupply. Predictions of it being a miracle cure for economic issues that poor countries face, which have been made over the years, have been shown to be spurious. Some countries that fell into this trap early are seeing the “investors” disappearing and the actual inflow of foreign currency being miniscule compared to the estimates.