There is a heated debate in the United Kingdom at the moment. The matter relate to David Cameron who is allegged to have used Cannabis in his student days at Eaton College. Mr Cameron is not only the leader of the UK’s Conservative party but also an MP for Witney constituency in West Oxfordshire. In a statement, the conservative leader, while not directly admitting the use of the illegal substance argued that “all politicians should be entitled to a private past life.” Opinion polls conducted by different news organisations indicate that most people do not care about his past as what matters to them is his policies now.
My reaction to this view by the British public is that of a shock. Memories of how the former president of Malawi Dr Bakili Muluzi once convicted for stealing 6 pounds and later plundered the Malawi government resources are still fresh. Malawians paid a heavy price for electing a convicted thief into the high office who during his tenure sold Maize from Admarc while people in village starved. This is the man who committed a catalogue of ills against the Malawian society because as a people we relegated the 6 pounds saga as an allowance for a politician’s private past.
I accept the notion that politicians are entitled to a private past. However, am at loss to comprehend the reasonableness of Cameron’s comment “i had a normal university life.” Then that is a message to the younger generation that it is perfectly normal, and go ahead…look at me, I did all right. Its not helping parents when warning their children of the dangers of drug use. It may not be a big deal, with regard to his private life, but it is a big deal to parents when they are trying to educate their children on the dangers of cannabis.
The laws on drug use in UK are there with the blessing of the electorate, that is good enougth for the majority of people. I respect the right of someone to argue to legalise certain drugs. Our own Joe Manduwa attempted to advocate the legalisation of Marijuana when he served as Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the UDF government.However, they just loose my respect when I find out that they already use(d) them illegally.I was brought up to respect the law and this was a key factor in never getting involved in this area. It was hard for me growing up as a teenager in an area(Dwangwa- Nkhotakota) where Marijuana is cultivated on a large scale, albeit illegally. Peer pressure was hard to overcome but thankfully I have parents who taught each member of our family to observe christian values and obey the rule of law.Which is why I would rather have the authority of the law on my side when I have the same discussion with my children and not have to justify my opinion why something that is legal is so bad for them. I don’t know anyone that has ever stopped taking any drug that regrets it, so I think those who commit crimes should all try giving up or they may be pleasantly suprised when the public reject them in future.
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