Sunday, May 5, 2013

ILLEGAL ‘WEED FOODS’ HIT CITY WITH A BANG

From: Evans MACHERA
Subject: ILLEGAL ‘WEED FOODS’ HIT CITY WITH A BANG
Date: Sunday, May 5, 2013, 7:48 AM



ILLEGAL ‘WEED FOODS’ HIT CITY WITH A BANG


ILLEGAL ‘WEED FOODS’ HIT CITY WITH A BANG (Copied to share).
Last updated on 4 May 2013 09:59 By SOLOMON KOKO

When Esther walked into her friend’s birthday party in Lang’ata on a Saturday afternoon, she was first offered a glass of juice and some cookies as she waited for the
main meal to be served.

A few minutes later Esther, a teetotaller, started feeling tipsy.
After taking two more cookies she became so excitable that her boyfriend thought she had either taken alcohol or her juice was spiked. That was when the host
revealed the secret. What Esther and other guests were nibbling at were not ordinary cookies but ‘weed cookies’ baked with bhang (also known as cannabis or marijuana among other monikers) as an ingredient.

“She’ll be fine, just give her one hour,” the birthday boy told Esther’s boyfriend. It soon became clear that some of the guests at the party were deliberately eating the cookies to get high while others, like Esther, had been tricked into taking the drug.

Smoking or possessing marijuana is illegal in Kenya, but those seeking to beat the law seem to have resorted to concealing the drug in cakes, brownies, muffins, cookies,
chocolates or sweets. Not having the distinctive smell of the drug makes it even more difficult to tell the difference between the ordinary baked foods or confectioneries and the illegal products Using bhang as a baking ingredient is a trend that was identified in the city a few years ago, but the authorities are now more concerned by the increased consumption of the illegal
products.

Nacada, the government agency that leads the campaign against drugs and alcohol abuse, has now raised the alarm and is planning to combine the arrest of suspected
suppliers with a campaign against the practice.
“The youth should be warned.

It isikely that the drug’s toxicity could increase if it is baked in food like cakes, cookies or biscuits,” says
Nacada chairman Frank Njenga.

But after weeks of investigations, The Nairobian can reveal that the cluelessness of the authorities on
how to deal with the ‘weed foods’ is in direct contrast with their widespread consumption. What is more, the suppliers of the ‘drugs foods’ only deal with trusted repeat
customers and do not openly sell the products.
Danger!

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