You committed a grievous error with your ruling on cannabis cultivation – Minister to Supreme Court

The Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, has averred that the Supreme Court’s ruling striking out provisions in the Narcotic Control Commission Act that allowed for the cultivation of certain kinds of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes is a serious error.

The Minister made the remarks on the floor of parliament on Thursday, July 7, 2023.

The Minister made the remarks after he laid the Narcotics Control Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, before the House for consideration.

The bill has been forwarded by the Speaker of the House, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs.

The bill was laid before the House by Ambrose Dery, the Interior Minister, who expressed his disagreement with the decision by the apex court.

The court held that the law was unconstitutional because there was no debate in Parliament before its passage into law, as stipulated by Article 106 (5) (6) of the 1992 Constitution.

The court also ruled that the explanatory memorandum attached to the bill placed before Parliament did not set out in detail the policy change, the defects in the existing law and the necessity to introduce a law to license the cultivation of cannabis.

Such an omission, it held, was a violation of Article 106 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.

But the Minister says the reason given by the court that the particular section was not debated by the House defeated the consensus building in the world of parliament.

He believes that once a matter is brought before the House, it is open to debate, during which not only opposing views are expressed.

He stated that even when there are no opposing views, the Speaker asks the question and a decision is made.

”So to, therefore, say that Section 43 was unconstitutional because there was no debate was, in my humble opinion, a grievous error, nut because we also consider this to be a public health issue and the benefits of medicinal and industrial, as well as economic value, this amendment is necessary to let us put back what has been in my view erroneously declared unconstitutional,” he added.

He went on to say that the bill does not seek to legalise recreational marijuana use, but rather to allow the minister to issue a special licence for cannabis grown to a specific specification.

He added that the bill, after amendment, will have a modern approach to the production of Cannabis for medicinal and industrial use.

On his part, the Speaker of Parliament also described the ruling as improper.

“I think the country is losing a lot as a result of this decision. We need to work expeditiously to rectify the wrong. I hope that the three arms of government will work together and respect each other. In cases of doubt, it is important to consult the other arm before giving finality to whatever decision the other arms want to take.

“I don’t think that it is proper for the judiciary, without knowing how we conduct our business here, to really go into how we conduct our business and make such an important decision without consulting the House. That is improper,” the Speaker of Parliament said.