ghana

  • 2021 sustainablefuture web coverLearn how lessening the barriers for small farmers while raising them for large companies can help to steer legal cannabis markets in a more sustainable and equitable direction based on principles of community empowerment, social justice, fair(er) trade and sustainable development.

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  • uganda cannabis womanMany African states that persecuted citizens for cannabis related offences for years are now promoting legal cannabis production. Over the past five years 10 countries have passed laws to legalise production for medical and scientific purposes. These include Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Ghana, Eswatini, Rwanda and Morocco. South Africa has also legalised the private growing of cannabis plants by adults for their own personal consumption. The cannabis policy liberalisation in Africa has been brought about by two main factors. One is the lobbying by local activists. Cannabis use is still criminalised in most African countries. The other factor is the emergence of the global legal cannabis industry projected to grow to nearly US$200 billion by 2028.

  • Olusegun ObasanjoSimilar to other countries in the region, Ghana is experiencing growing drug availability, trafficking and consumption. This phenomenon, more and more visible and problematic for a decade now, is related to the development of a new cocaine trafficking route through West Africa, from Latin America and towards Europe or North America. The strategic choice of traffickers to use our region for transit is based on many issues that provide opportunities for drug traffickers: the weakness of institutions; the lack of transparency of financial institutions; and corruption. One can wonder why Ghana is unsuccessful in controlling drugs, when it applies the harshest penalties for drug-related offences in West Africa?

  • ghana flag cannabisGhana has legalized the use of cannabis for health and industrial purposes as it joins other African countries hoping to derive economic and health benefits from the substance. On Friday the country’s Parliament passed into law the Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019. The law now makes the country’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) a Commission with enhanced powers to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances. The Commission, however, will have the mandate to control and eliminate the trafficking of prohibited narcotic drugs to ensure public safety. The Hemp Association of Ghana (HAG) has already signed a deal with a Ghanaian-owned Cannabis business operator based in Portugal. (See also: Ghana legalises use of cannabis for health and industrial purposes)

  • On Friday, 20th March, the Parliament of Ghana passed the Narcotics Control Commission Bill into law. This brought great excitement to many who have been following the legislative process since 2015, when the Bill was first introduced. Many civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ghana laud the Government for this significant moment in the history of drug policy reform in the country. The new law makes huge inroads towards more humane drug policy, and will pave way for other good examples to emerge in the sub-region.

  • The Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service has recently uncovered hundreds of acres of farmland dedicated to the cultivation of plants suspected to be Indian Hemp. The enclave is located behind the Tome Mountain at Peki in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region. With the help of a drone, the location which initially looked like a small enclave was discovered to be so vast and hidden such that it would have been difficult to detect and assess. A visit to the site revealed hundreds of farmlands dedicated to the cultivation of the substance as far as the eyes can see.

  • Parliament passed the new Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019, which enhanced the powers of the country’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances. In the bill, parliament decided to incorporate a clause that will allow for the industrial use of cannabis with THC level of not more than 0.3 percent. This is to allow companies producing jute sacks for cocoa and other produce to set up their plants and produce them locally instead of importing them from India and other countries. However, this has been misconstrued by some Ghanaians to mean legalization of cannabis for personal use, which is not the case. (See also: Parliament has not legalized ‘wee’ for public consumption - MP)