Three men on a farm in the Democratic Republic of Congo prepare weed for sale.
Annons
Annons
In California, where medical marijuana use is legal and it's widely expected that voters will sanction recreational use this fall, I met farmers trying to distinguish their goods as connoisseur grade to justify higher prices. But in the DRC, a country that's been ravaged by civil wars and natural disasters, the options are far fewer, and weed's criminality actually helps poverty-stricken Congolese make a modest living.When I visited last July, I tracked Congo's weed supply chain to a tiny village in the Masisi territory in the eastern part of the country. The village, Kivuye, was under control of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a notorious rebel group started by the Hutu militants who carried out the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. The FDLR care little about the weed trade happening under their noses—gold and rare earth minerals are their pay dirt. But to the farmers I met there, pot is a cash crop.I asked Mwembo, a farmer, why he and others in Kivuye grow the stuff. "Because it enables us to buy essential commodities like salt or soap," he told me. "As you can see, I was able to wash this jacket I am wearing because they bought my weed. When my child needs clothes, I can raise money to buy them. That's why we do this."While many think of legal weed as an unmitigated good, and while it has improved economies in several situations, legalization and regulation could present hardship for some. I hope that farmers like Mwembo will still be able to provide for their families if the UN moves toward international decriminalization of weed and the bottom falls out of the illicit market.This article appeared in the April issue of VICE magazine. Click HERE to subscribe.The FDLR care little about the weed trade happening under their noses—gold and rare earth minerals are their pay dirt. But to the farmers I met there, pot is a cash crop.