Zambia is suffering a severe hangover from its decade long commodity boom, as mounting debt and energy shortages are crippling the once vibrant economy.

Zambia has seen a decrease in GDP growth from an average of 7.4% from 2004-2014 to barely 3% for 2016. This figure is only slightly above population growth. When annual inflation is added – which despite having decreased from 22.9% in January to only 8.8% in November – it reveals that the livelihoods of Zambians are actually regressing. This slowdown has affected the government’s bottom line, as Zambia’s national debt continues to pile up.

The country with the biggest weed habit? That might surprise you.

A new report claims the UK government should legalise marijuana because it's “the only solution to crime and addiction problems”.

The strongly-worded study - titled The Tide Effect: How the World is Changing its Mind on Cannabis - was produced by the nonpartisan Adam Smith Institute and has the backing of several cross-party MPs including former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg.

A new report claims the UK government should legalise marijuana because it's “the only solution to crime and addiction problems”.

The strongly-worded study - titled The Tide Effect: How the World is Changing its Mind on Cannabis - was produced by the nonpartisan Adam Smith Institute and has the backing of several cross-party MPs including former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg.

Marijuana legalization has been a political issue in the United States for some time, and while it remains illegal in most states, others have softened their stance in recent years. Colorado and Washington both passed initiatives by popular vote to decriminalize and legalize cannabis in 2012. In 2014, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., followed suit. Many states including Massachusetts, California, Missouri, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Ohio have flirted with legalization for a few election cycles, with buzz growing.

The United States isn't the only country where people use marijuana legally or illicitly. In fact, it isn’t even the country with the highest reported marijuana use.

THERE was a small amount of marijuana in Zanele Moyo’s room and not the huge cache of empty alcohol bottles initially indicated, higher education minister Jonathan Moyo said on Wednesday.

Zanele, Minister Moyo’s daughter, was found dead in her off-campus flat in South Africa last Saturday. The 20-year-old was a second year student at the University of Cape Town.

Her body arrived in Harare Wednesday ahead of burial at Glen Forest on Friday.

Addressing mourners who included President Robert Mugabe, Minister Moyo said they found a small amount of marijuana when they got into Zanele’s apartment.

According to The Herald newspaper, Minister Moyo said the family had not raised any suspicion of foul play over his daughter’s passing.

The cultivation and use of marijuana is rapidly rising across Africa as farmers, hit by low commodity prices, increasingly see the drug as a cash crop.

Pressure for legalizing marijuana is increasing in many African countries as legalized pot in the U.S. and Uruguay leads the way.

“At the moment, farmers choose to cultivate marijuana over traditional crops because it commands a far higher market price on the black market both at home and abroad,” Zambian Green Party President Peter Sinkamba told Anadolu Agency.

A 71- year- old -man of Mpongwe district has been found with a case to answer for cultivation of marijuana, a psychotropic substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Before Luanshya Principal Resident Magistrate Dominic Makalicha was Dickson Makaya, 71, of Mpongwe district.

It was alleged that on 24th May, 2015, a team of Drug Enforcement Commission Officers conducted a search on the accused’s farm where it was discovered that he was cultivating marijuana intercropped with Maize.

The court heard that following a tip-off from the public that the accused was involved in the cultivation and trafficking of Psychotropic substance called marijuana, DEC officers went to the accused’s house.

Opposition Green Party leader Peter Sinkamba says if he was voted in last January, the country would have been harvesting its first medicinal marijuana crop this month worth US$3 billion from the planned 129 farms countrywide.

Mr. Sinkamba says on his social media posting that to date his party would have earned US $ 3 billion , which is half Zambia’s budget for 2015 had he been voted Republican President .

“ With Green Party in government, by now there would have been no deficit, no nkongole ( debt ) , but a thriving economy like it used to be in the 1960’s and 1970s “ he said.

Chile, the country that produces copper six times more than Zambia has just legalized marijuana, and we are still shamefully grappling with realities, he adds

ZAMBIA Medical Association president Dr Aaron Mujajati has suggested that marijuana be subjected to further scientific scrutiny in view of growing debates on its health benefits.

In a statement, Dr Mujajati advised people to be open to new ideas.

“As Zambia Medical Association [ZMA], we are aware of the local sentiments on this subject and the current legal provisions. However, we should not, as a country, shy away from subjecting our practices to further interrogation. We are not an island and our ways of life are affected negatively or positively by the world beyond us,” he stated.