Consumption of cannabis is at the centre of a controversy again. This shows, if it needed to be proved once again, that Mauritians – or at least the Mauritian authorities – are far from accepting that a great number of citizens take cannabis. Although smoking cannabis is certainly not good for the health, the fight should not target just the consumers but also the dealers.

After the concert given by Pierpoljak, reggae musicians from France, the opposition leader, Paul Bérenger, claimed that people at the concert smoked cannabis. The case attracted so much attention that it was mentioned in Parliament with the “revelation” by the prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, that “some people may have smoked cannabis in the stadium.”

It seemed as if both the PM and the opposition leader had discovered “America on the map” – as our native Creole likes to put it. Consumption of any drug – be it heroin, cocaine, cannabis and even alcohol and cigarettes – should not be encouraged. And our leaders should show responsibility by warning the population about the evil effects of drugs. Hiding the truth from the population – and from themselves – will certainly not help.

Even if cannabis doesn’t create any physical addiction, Dr Fayzal Sulliman of the National Association for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers (NATReSA) explains, it creates a “psychological” addiction.

Likewise, it has negative consequences on health: the person smoking cannabis “will have memory problems, lose his/her reflexes and his/her respiratory system will certainly suffer,” according to the doctor. He also gives very important statistics: “Last year’s report states that 30,000 people between 15 and 54 years smoke cannabis.” And, as smoking is illegal, we can suppose that more people actually smoke cannabis than admit to the fact. So, if “some may have smoked cannabis” during the concert, this is no big news!

Style of living

Cannabis is part of the festive atmosphere of many young people today. “Smoking a joint is part of a style of living, of conviviality with friends that affects all communities and all social classes,” explains a 25 year-old trainee engineer.

As cannabis is now part of Mauritian customs, many do not understand why the authorities show so much severity towards smokers. “If we smoke at home, we do not represent any danger to society. Why are they always after us?” In fact, the illegal character of cannabis is also linked to human rights issues… a person is free only if he abides by the law that forbids the sale and the consumption of cannabis.

The smokers must be told what damage cannabis can cause in the long run. Instead of sending them to prison, they should be informed of the real dangers. Dealers are the ones to be chased in the fight against drugs. In an ideal society where there were no more dealers, this would mean no more drugs on the market and no more consumers. But we’re far from that utopia…

On the contrary, more dangerous drugs have appeared on the Mauritian scene. If cannabis became a Mauritian custom in the 60s, ecstasy and other more recent drugs… have more direct dangerous effects on health. Rave parties where such pills are (more or less) openly distributed are becoming more and more frequent with dealers making more and more money out of the younger generations…

Parents have recently rung the alarm bell to try and stop such parties where people are said to have been raped after being given ‘love drugs’. Rohypnol, which is the drug often used for that purpose, is known to leave people in a daze and destroy their will. People are raped and very often do not even remember what they did the night before.