This article first appeared in the Nyasa Times on 30 January 2023.

Four years since the legalization of industrial hemp in the country, the Cannabis Regulatory Authority says data has not yet been documented on how much money has been realized from the export of the crop.

READ: Africa urgently needs to develop market entry strategies if it's to play meaningfully on the international cannabis stage.

The move has promoted the Center for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director, Willy Kambwandira, to argue that absence of this information is a recipe for speculation that some people could be benefiting from the crop at the expense of Malawians.

However, director general of the authority, Dr. Ketulo Salipira, says the authority is conducting its first ever production surveys, which will determine the amount and also how much crop has been exported.

Salipira added that they are facing various challenges, such as the misunderstanding of the Cannabis Regulation Act by some policymakers and the general public, as some confuse medicinal hemp with recreational use.

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