MP Diana Gamage has once more said that Sri Lanka has been blessed with Cannabis and therefore the country should now start growing it extensively and start exporting it to bring up the economy. She made this statement while speaking in Parliament a short while ago (16). "A lot of African countries have started exporting Tea. Everyone wants to do tea business. Whereas, Sri Lanka has been blessed by the Gods with an all natural treatment called Cannabis. Cannabis is easily cultivatable and with this, our economy can be sustained. This is a very good way to bring our economy back up, we should consider exporting it," said Gamage. She further stated that she has plenty of by products of the cannabis plant at home, which she wanted to bring to Parliament, but could not. "I have enough and more products at home made of cannabis. It is not a drug, this is all natural. I have toothpaste, some food items, cannabis oils and other items. I wanted to bring them, but could not," she said. Gamage re-iterated that the use of cannabis oil is beneficial for various ayurveda treatments as well, and would highly benefit those who suffer from cancers, multiple sclerosis and various other ailments, whilst emphasising that people should not look at cannabis as a drug but as a medical alternative. In April this year, she proposed in Parliament that Sri Lanka should legalise the cultivation and export of medicinal cannabis to other countries. However, her proposal was met with strong criticism. In response to this, Gamage expressed to The Morning that there is no room for such criticisms. “People criticise everything in this country, that is just the norm. It is accepted globally, over 50 countries engage in cannabis cultivation. It is essential for our Ayurvedic treatments as well. There is nothing to criticise about it. Once this is fully implemented and after the people see the benefits, they will understand that it was a correct decision to make,” she said.