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    "id": 647011,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/647011/?format=api",
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    "content": "is a banned or prohibited substance according to the WADA. If you recall, sometime back, Mo Farah, the great runner from Somalia who is now a citizen of the United Kingdom (UK) mentioned in an interview that he had chewed khat in Somalia at some point and it raised global uproar. In fact, the people he had vanquished in athletics started claiming that he was winning because of khat. So, we need to remember that there is that limitation that khat is viewed as a banned substance even as we want to promote its export. You may find many sportsmen in Kenya using it. This is not backed by empirical evidence but observation, particularly for some of us who went to school in the Eastlands part of Nairobi. You will find a lot of games where chewing khat or smoking cannabis is seen as a norm. I still do not understand why we have banned cannabis in this country when other countries in the Americas and Europe have legalised it. Let people smoke cannabis because it does not cause any harm. If we do now want to smoke it in Kenya, then, at least we should allow growers or certain areas---. For example, in Gwasi which is in my county, cannabis grows as a wild crop. It was never introduced by anybody. Why could we not harvest and export it abroad? However, it is still a banned substance. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the section on the General Provisions, Part 6, Clause 42, is extremely dangerous. I know we are attempting to domesticate an international law but it talks about doping in recreational sports like golf, tennis, badminton, cycling, etcetera . If you look at the list of prohibited substances, this Bill tells you that if you go for Karate and you have taken some cannabis, you can be arrested and fined not less than Kshs100,000 or be jailed for not less than one year. If you go for a round of Barclays Open golf tournament after a few shots of whisky, you can be arrested and jailed for one year. We need to re-look at that section on the use or aspect of doping in recreational sports. Otherwise, you will be opening up a Pandora’s Box. This section can be used to frustrate young people. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if I want to “sort” out somebody whom I know loves going to the gymnasium and loves to chew miraa which is not banned in Kenya, then I can say that miraa is a prohibited substance and that you are doing body building. A combination of the two can land someone in jail for not less than one year. I think even if we were to put a penalty, we should not prescribe it in such a way that we do not give the The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}