Malawi asks Mike Tyson to be their marijuana ambassador

Malawi officially on Tuesday requested the boxing legend Mike Tyson to become an ambassador for their cannabis industry, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday.

In a letter to the former world heavyweight champion dated November 1, the ministry wrote that " Malawi cannot go it alone in this complex industry and needs a partner ," and that it requested Mike Tyson, as the ambassador of the cannabis sector in Malawi. 

The ministry did not say whether Tyson had responded positively to its request.

The former world heavyweight champion Iron Mike has flourished in recent years in the legal cannabis business. 

Malawi joined the list of African countries that allow medicinal use in early 2020, in part to compensate for a sharp decline in tobacco production . 

Production and sale for textile and rope manufacture are also permitted. 

Sometimes described as " Malawi's gold ", cannabis had been grown illegally for years before its approval in 2020.