Ganja: Failed industry targets Sri Lanka

Despite Billion Dollar losses in the West they are promising us Billions!

by Dr. Dineth Bandara

The Jackals are closing in. The bait is set. The ganja farce is hotting up. The drama we are watching makes one wonder if there already is a surreptitious agreement between a section of politicians and officials, and the ganja business. The business in suits and ties, not the sarong-clad ganja cultivators hauled regularly before courts.

Public pronouncements on ganja have been made by a few deluded “Honourable” Members of Parliament. These utterances seem to confirm that the government is seriously considering allowing multinational ganja corporations to cultivate ganja in thousands of acres in Sri Lanka. The deluded few have swallowed the bait. The bait that Sri Lanka can settle a substantial amount of her foreign debt easily by selling ganja (hemp) oil to the world.

This time around, ganja comes with a veneer of sophistication, ostensibly to supply posh markets in the West. This is supposed to bring billions to the national economy. Whichever way one washes it, ganja is ganja, be it grown by those in business suits or proletariats. The only difference is that the harmful chemicals being higher in the business variety. There is nothing “desheeya” about it.

The posh ganja pushers with impressive sounding qualifications and mesmerizing presentations will not tell that world prices of ganja oil has fallen down a precipice within a short period. The prices of ganja oil have collapsed by over seventy five percent since 2019. Their fancy looking and awe-inspiring forecasts totally hides this.

Many companies that got into the into the ganja business have taken a huge hit. The largest ganja traders in the world has reported a billion dollar losses this year. This is in addition to their share values collapsing by over 10 billion US dollars last year. They are not in a position to repay their own debts. The ganja peddlers in suits are hurt and desperate. So are the tobacco and alcohol industries that have heavily invested in these companies.

Therefore, there is no surprise that they are looking to expand the markets elsewhere, even working through trade sections of Embassies. Their immediate objective will be the relaxation of the laws and getting a foothold in as many countries as possible.

If ganja oil is liquid gold, why have the prices collapsed? It is because many countries (and businesses) fell in the same trap. It is like someone opening “bath (rice) kadey” and doing good business. Seeing this, two others will also open shop in the same area, collapsing all three businesses.

Ganja oil prices dropped drastically because there is a severe oversupply. Countries with larger areas of land and cheaper labour have got into the business, perhaps fooled by the same economic hit-men that are coming to Sri Lanka. Any mildly competent business analyst, economist or policy maker should spot this blind-folded.

So, in the end, we will end up with a pittance in dollars, after giving thousands of acres to foreign businesses that will exploit our labour. Along the line, they will keep lobbying in more than one way to open up the domestic market, in micro steps.

There is a range of ganja products in the line already to prime any population. Drinks, chocolates, toffees, cosmetics, hair conditioners, tea, butter and even pet products are among these. However, the real target and the most lucrative product that all such companies wish to market is ganja cigarettes, or smoking products. This is marketed in some countries already.

It seems that some very small sections of the Ayurvedic professionals, are being unknowingly used by the ganja trade. They too are asking for the same – relaxation of laws on ganja cultivation. If they look at this more carefully they too may lose after all. It is possible that the market for some Ayurvedic medications will disappear, if the laws on ganja cultivation is relaxed. Why should one pay for such medicine when one can grow it free of charge, at home?

Hopefully, the more perceptive politicians and government officials are aware that thousands of acres of “protected” ganja plantations is nothing but a mirage in Sri Lanka. We were all treated to the spectacle of heroin and other drugs being sold by none other than those linked to Sri Lanka Police, Department of Excise and even the Government Analysts Department.

It is also hoped that those governing us realize that the widespread social and economic misery caused to Sri Lanka even now by ganja will increase, even if a miniscule amount of the high-yielding varieties which will be grown in these thousands of acres will leak out.

In Sinhala, there is a colourful and insightful saying about petting stray snakes, which all of us are familiar with. In countries where ganja was made legal, ganja related road traffic accidents and deaths have increased significantly. Ganja also significantly increases severe mental illnesses in young people and also increases suicides.

We lose billions of rupees and thousands of lives each year due to road traffic accidents. More than 80,000 and Sri Lankans are admitted to hospitals each year due to self-harm. It is doubtful that any sane government will want adding such misery to thousands of more families.

The ganja pushers will not look for relaxation of laws on use of ganja right now. This industry, primed by shrewd and ruthless strategies and the killer instinct of the tobacco industry, will first look for a foothold in Sri Lanka through a slight relaxation of laws and the control of large tracts of land.

They will then work relentlessly over the years until their objective of opening the domestic market for ganja products is achieved. This may even be 10 years down the line. It would be a walk in the park for these traders in countries like ours, considering the huge amount of resources that is available to them.

This is why Sri Lanka should be wary of Greeks bearing gifts. They will promise billions of dollars to the country, which they cannot and will not deliver. Those pretending to be the guardians of Sri Lanka, sitting in the middle of Diyawanna should use their brain cells on this one.

We should not let lighting strike the beggar’s bowl. Unless all of us are alert, we will be in the same position that China ended up after the Opium Wars. All Sri Lankans should hope and pray that “The Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” will not be seen through a haze of ganja smoke.