In Sri Lanka it is the “desheeya” or local culture that is being used. This is not to say that a handful of those calling themselves “liberals” also want it legalised here. It is hard to see how dependence forming drugs liberate people. Those who are favourable to such ideologies are ruthlessly used as advocates sometimes unwittingly, to achieve this objective.
It is well established that cannabis causes many health harms. These harms have not occurred on a large scale because the number of users in each country during the recent past has been small.
In Sri Lanka, if a larger number of people begin to use cannabis-derived products, the already unacceptable number of road traffic accidents, deaths and injuries will increase, as it has been shown in countries where cannabis use is increasing. We will also see large scale spending on cannabis by the poorer segments (as for alcohol) leading to exacerbation of poverty.
