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{
    "id": 371555,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/371555/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 59,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Prof.) Nyikal",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this matter. I stand to support this Motion. The issue of miraa has three components and we need to look at those components carefully to get the proper outcome. The first one is the socio-economic component of miraa . That has been discussed quite adequately in this House. Its social importance amongst the Ameru people cannot be doubted. All the Members who have supported the Motion have adequately illustrated that, and we all know it. Its economic importance in the same area--- The amount of cash that gets into the area, again, that has been well documented and adequately demonstrated here. The other component of that is the medical aspect. The truth is that miraa has active ingredients that are related to substances that are classified as drugs. It has vitamins like compounds that have effects on people. What is important is how it is used. That goes for anything including water. If today I force you to take adequate amount of water, you can start convulsing because it will have toxic effects. That goes for anything. So, the fact that miraa has active ingredients that can cause psychological addiction, euphoria and hallucinations, that alone should not make it be classified as a drug in a manner that prohibits its use by many people. That is an extremely important point that we should take into account. That is, basically, the reason why there have been arguments that miraa should be classified as a drug in some countries. But even in those countries, the technical experts have indicated that the amount of the ingredients in miraa, if adequately used, is not sufficient to make it be classified as such. The latest argument came from Britain where the Minister classified miraa as a drug in the context in which we are discussing. However, information that is available, at least, in the Press, indicates that experts have advised the Minister that it was not necessary to do that. The components that are active and cause the effects that we know are in minimal amount. They change very quickly"
}