Go slow on cannabis cultivation - Expert

Mental Health Expert, Peter Yaro, has said the cultivation of cannabis known as ‘wee’ will open the floodgates for the abuse of the drug.

Mr Yaro said for a country like Ghana, where laws and regulations are not entirely respected, it is dangerous for the country to give room for such a plant to be commercially cultivated.

He said those calling for that move must not forget to provide rehab services for those who will be affected by abuse.

Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant.

Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol, according to Scientists.

Ghana is set to legalise the production of cannabis, subject to licences from the state for medicinal purposes.

The government, through the Parliament of Ghana, is seeking to amend the existing law, Act 1019, to make way for commercial production.

On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, parliament passed the Narcotics Control Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Bill is composed of a single clause that, when passed, will empower the Minister to grant a licence for the cultivation of cannabis which has no more than 0.3 percent THC content on a dry weight basis for industrial purposes for obtaining fibre or seed or for medicinal purposes.

The Bill further prohibits a person who has been granted a licence under the Bill from cultivating cannabis for recreational use.