{"id":139947,"date":"2026-05-05T17:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/senators-split-over-bill-to-delist-miraa-as-narcotic-substance\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T17:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:03:14","slug":"senators-split-over-bill-to-delist-miraa-as-narcotic-substance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/senators-split-over-bill-to-delist-miraa-as-narcotic-substance\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators Split Over Bill to Delist Miraa as Narcotic Substance"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 \u2013 The Senate has kicked off debate on a proposed law seeking to remove miraa from the list of narcotic and psychotropic substances, setting the stage for a high-stakes clash between economic interests and public health concerns.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Amendment Bill, 2024, sponsored by Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi, aims to delist cathinone and cathine, naturally occurring compounds in miraa, from the schedule of controlled substances.<\/p>\n

Murungi, while moving the motion on the floor of the house, mounted a robust defence of the crop, describing it as an economic lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Kenyans, particularly in Meru and parts of Embu.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiraa is grown on approximately 22,000 hectares and supports more than 500,000 people directly and indirectly through production, packaging, transport, and trade,\u201d he told the House.<\/p>\n

He argued that the current legal framework is contradictory, noting that miraa is recognised as a scheduled crop under the Crops Act, 2013, and receives government funding, yet its active ingredients remain classified as narcotics under a separate law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government cannot, on one hand, allocate billions to the miraa sector and, on the other, criminalise the same crop through its chemical components,\u201d Murungi said.<\/p>\n

The senator told colleagues that the classification has stifled research, innovation and value addition, with institutions unable to secure certification for products such as miraa juice, tea and wine due to regulatory restrictions.<\/p>\n

Murungi further cited findings by the World Health Organization\u2019s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, which in 2006 concluded that the potential for abuse and dependence is low and that the threat to public health does not warrant international control of miraa as a crop.<\/p>\n

He also referenced past parliamentary inquiries and international reviews, including a UK House of Commons report, which found no conclusive evidence linking miraa use to significant medical or social harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven countries that imposed bans did so for regulatory reasons, not because of proven harm. Kenya should align its laws to support farmers and unlock export markets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Meru Senator told the Senate that miraa previously contributed significantly to Kenya\u2019s economy before restrictions in European markets, and called for reforms to enable value addition and diversification.<\/p>\n

Seconding the motion, Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey framed the debate as a matter of protecting farmers\u2019 livelihoods, saying more than 1.4 million Kenyans depend on the crop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must defend miraa farmers the same way we defend maize, tea, coffee, and dairy farmers. We harvest 32,000 tons of Miraa, which is worth 12 billion Kenyan shillings. That\u2019s a lot of income generating.I know there could be resistance from some of our colleagues, maybe because of religious beliefs, maybe because Mira was wrongly classified as a drug,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cherargei argued that miraa had been \u201cwrongly classified\u201d as a psychotropic substance, and urged senators to seize the moment to correct what he termed a historical injustice.<\/p>\n

But the proposed changes drew sharp criticism from a section of lawmakers, who cautioned against weakening drug control laws.<\/p>\n

Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki told the House that miraa and mugoka contain cathinone and cathine chemicals listed under Schedule One of United Nations drug control conventions and classified as Class C substances in Kenya.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are internationally controlled substances due to their harmful effects on users,\u201d Faki said.<\/p>\n

Mandera Senator Ali Roba echoed the concerns, urging the government to shift focus toward supporting farmers to transition to alternative cash crops instead of pushing for legal changes around miraa.<\/p>\n

The debate also revisited past tensions over the crop, including attempted restrictions at the Coast, pointing to \u00a0its divisive status across regions.<\/p>\n

If passed, the Bill would pave the way for full commercialisation and value addition of miraa products, potentially opening new domestic and international markets.<\/p>\n

However, senators remain split, with the outcome likely to hinge on whether economic arguments outweigh concerns over health risks and Kenya\u2019s obligations under international drug control frameworks.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 \u2013 The Senate has kicked off debate on a proposed law seeking to remove miraa from the list of narcotic and psychotropic substances, setting the stage for a high-stakes clash between economic interests and public health concerns. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Amendment Bill, 2024, sponsored by Meru Senator […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}