Repeal Obsolete Apartheid Act 41 of 1971 and Legalize Cannabis in Namibia

We, the undersigned, led by GUN (Ganja Users of Namibia) and RUF (Rastafari United Front) hereby urgently call on the National Assembly to:

Immediately repeal the discriminatory Abuse of Dependence-Producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act 41 of 1971 or to amend it by omitting or deleting cannabis from the schedule under the heading Prohibited Dependency Producing Drugs from the outdated drugs law from 1971, so that Namibians can freely use, possess, produce and trade in cannabis for personal, social, recreational, cultural, historical, traditional, medicinal, entrepreneurial and religious purposes in responsible ways as it was in pre-colonial and pre-apartheid Namibia, before the introduction of this unjust Apartheid act into Namibian law 48 years ago.

The Abuse of Dependence-Producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act 41 of 1971 is in direct violation of our rights and freedoms (Article 5):

• To equality and freedom from discrimination based on colour, religion and economic status (Article 10),
• To fair trial (Article 12),
• To privacy (Article 13)
• To administrative justice (Article 18),
• To culture (Article 19)
• To human dignity (Article 8)
• To enforcement of Fundamental Rights and Freedom (Article 25)

In addition we request the Parliament:

• To end all so-called “presumptuous” prosecutions attested by apartheid discrimination laws
• To drop the penalty of prison time for cannabis offenders,
• To order the release of all those doing prison time for cannabis,
• To cease all pending cannabis cases currently on trial,
• To delete all cannabis offenders from the criminal records,
• To order police to end cannabis arrests
• To respect the privacy, safety and religious freedom of all Namibians

We call on the parliament to establish a Commission that controls and regulates the cannabis industry in Namibia for the benefit of the estimated 200,000 Namibians who use cannabis, recognition of the historical rights of Namibians and for the growth of the national economy through the production of responsible, well-informed and progressive personal, social, recreational, cultural, medicinal, entrepreneurial and religious cannabis use.

The Abuse of Dependence-Producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act 41 of 1971 is in contradiction with the Namibian Constitution of 1990, the UN Convention on Illicit drugs and drugs Trafficking of 1988 rectified by Namibia in the same year, and, through the promotion of an inhumane apartheid ideology, with the Human Rights of every Namibian.

Cannabis is a national heritage of Namibia’s diverse communities, historically predating colonization. In Namibian traditions cannabis is known as epangwe (oshiWambo), mangeha (otjiHerero), dagga (Khoi-Khoi), matokwane (Tswana), oshimbodi (oshiKwanyama), livangwe, xana (Damara Nama), !nora (Damara Nama) lyamba, lipangwe, etc.

Cannabis legalization across Developed and Developing countries worldwide has contributed immensely to local economies, in agriculture, medicine and tax-regulation, while decades of research has produced no persuasive medical, scientific or criminal evidence that cannabis is harmful to users or that it contributes to criminal activities, crime rate, anti-social behaviour or dependency.
Unlike with many other drugs, there is no evidence that cannabis consumption has led to overdoses or fatalities.

We appeal to the Parliament to repeal or amend this Act.

We appeal to the Office of the President, to treat it as a matter of National urgency and to engage in open dialogue to modernize this outdated Act for the benefit of all Namibians.

We call on the Government of Namibia to represent Namibian interests according to modern, well-informed and progressive standards and with respect for history and traditional rights of her people. This is why, if we are denied a diligent dialogue by our representative bodies, GUN, RUF and all concerned parties will be left with no other option but to take the Government to the Supreme Court to challenge the law at constitutional level, as it happened in South Africa, since all laws in Namibia made before and after independence must follow the constitution and not contradict it.

In conclusion, we call on the entire National Assembly and other Namibian citizens to be aware of your rights, to research the racist Act 41 of 1971, to participate in eroding the apartheid-based discrimination and to learn the facts about the Cannabis plant so that you can become informed at a personal level about the potential social and individual benefits of cannabis, when you stand with the Namibian people for the legalisation of cannabis. We call on you all too actively motivate by all official means available, for the legitimisation, legalisation and regulation of a rightful part of our history and culture – a sacred resource for public benefit.