Source: timesca.com
ASTANA (TCA) — Dariga Nazarbayeva, a member of Kazakhstan’s parliament and the eldest daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has proposed giving control of vast, wild hemp fields in southern Kazakhstan to pharmaceutical firms.
Speaking in parliament yesterday, Nazarbayeva said that huge financial resources had been spent during the past decades to eliminate the wild hemp fields in the Chui Valley shared with neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
She said that since the wild hemp continues to grow on a vast area despite the efforts to eliminate it, it would be reasonable to allow international pharmaceutical companies to use the crop.
She added that such a move could help regulate the situation, create new jobs, and generate revenue for the state.
“The Chui Valley is 140 thousand hectares of land capable of producing up to 5 thousand tons of hemp annually,” Nazarbayeva said. “I suggest reconsidering our view on hemp now. The wild hemp is not only a narcotic used for criminal purposes but also a useful agricultural crop.”
She addressed Kazakhstan Interior Minister Kalmukhanbet Kasymov suggesting him not to destroy the wild hemp but use it for “good, medical purposes”.
Nazarbayeva's proposal came days after Jenishbek Nazaraliyev, a prominent narcologist in Kyrgyzstan, proposed the legalization of marijuana (or hemp) in order to regulate its production in the Chui Valley.
Speaking in the Kazakh parliament on the same day, Interior Minister Kasymov said that Kazakhstan intends to destroy the wild hemp growing in the Chui Valley.
Solving the drug problem is essential, he said, adding that the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry is working on a plan to find and destroy the wild hemp fields in the valley.
The Kazakh government has set aside 6.2 billion KZT (US $40 million) for the anti-drug program in 2012-2016, the minister said.
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