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There is increased consumption of disguised cannabis-laced edibles, portending profound dangers to ac health and safety.

The grave risk with the emerging weed-laced products is that it is much harder to identify cannabis concealed in legitimate products, and they could easily be sold to and consumed by unsuspecting members of the public, including children. 

A study has revealed that despite the robust legal, policy and regulatory frameworks and law enforcement measures over the years, cannabis production, cultivation, trafficking, sale and consumption are still major challenges in Kenya.

According to a study by the National Crime Research Centre (NCRC), without addressing the sources of cannabis, efforts to control its trafficking, sale and consumption in the country are likely to remain ineffective.

“Arresting petty traffickers, peddlers and consumers targets the symptoms of the problem rather than the underlying main source – large-scale cannabis trafficking networks,” the report states.

It adds: “Petty peddlers are at the bottom of the drug supply chain, and their arrest does little to disrupt the larger-scale networks that control the production, trafficking, and distribution of cannabis.”

Changing dynamics

This research established different typologies of cannabis found in Kenya and largely attributed to either the source or countries of origin. The study profiled the changing dynamics around cannabis methods of administration. They have significantly changed from the traditional “weed smoking” into other emerging forms of administration considered hip or classy or camouflaged to evade smell detection and to keep up with emerging trends elsewhere.

These include cannabis-baked weed confectionaries such 10 as cookies, samosas, cakes, and biscuits. They are also used as tea leaves, processed into weed juice; laced in homemade sweets, and chocolates.

“This study established emerging dynamics around processing cannabis into disguised legitimate edibles, new methods of administration, concealment, transportation and distribution,” the report states.

Trafficking and distribution

Factors promoting cannabis production, trafficking, distribution and sale include the growing culture of normalisation of its abuse across the country; widespread corruption among some rogue law enforcement, regulatory and compliance and border management officials and some National Government Administration Officers (NGAO); and porous borders.

Other factors have been identified as the availability of ready markets; higher monetary prospects and incentives and peer pressure, amongst others.

The report states that the traffickers use different routes depending on their “risks assessment”, and the routes change from time to time.

“Cannabis traffickers undertake risk assessments and employ sophisticated surveillance technologies and informers along the country’s highways and roads,” the report states.

Regarding distribution, the NCRC said the traffickers use rogue law enforcement officers, street children, security guards, persons disguised as mentally challenged, hawkers, casual staff in offices, house nannies, pregnant women, women with young children, and children in school uniforms among others.

The disguised cannabis is sold around in offices, market centres, matatu and boda boda terminuses, car wash bays, pool table and video venues, motor vehicle garages, video centres, building construction sites, markets, mining sites and illicit alcohol dens, according to the report.

It is recommended that the police and other security agencies heighten surveillance, intelligence gathering and information sharing to detect and disrupt emerging dynamics in the cannabis underworld.

NACADA, County governments, civil society organizations to heighten rehabilitation of addicts, public sensitization and awareness around cannabis abuse in Kenya.

These initiatives should also have prominence in schools, colleges, and universities as young people are targets for cannabis abuse.

Prompt disposal

The Judiciary should institute mechanisms for prompt disposal or destruction of cannabis exhibits as this research established that there is a major challenge regarding storage of cannabis exhibits in most police stations.

It was established that much of the cannabis trafficked in Kenya comes from neighbouring and foreign countries. This challenge calls for the need for enhanced collaboration on cross-border security and borderland management in intelligence gathering and sharing.

“This will enable the authorities to predict, detect, prevent, investigate, prosecute and disrupt organised transnational criminals involved in cannabis trafficking and other contrabands into the country,” the report states.

As international borders become increasingly connected, the global movement, accessibility and abuse of drugs have become increasingly widespread.

Drug trafficking is often associated with other forms of crime, such as money laundering, corruption, human trafficking, terrorism, proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

A number of challenges arise in addressing drug trafficking in Kenya including corruption among law enforcement officers, lucrative nature of the drug trafficking, a weak criminal justice system and lack of awareness on drug trafficking.

The study also recommended in-depth research into the emerging criminal underworld of cannabis-edibles in the country.