|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The legalization and control of cannabis for commercial and industrial use has been approved by parliament.
The approval of the Narcotics Control Commission Regulations 2023, which legalize cannabis with a 0.3 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, precedes this development.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery stressed during his contribution to the Legislative Instrument’s adoption that it should not be understood to mean that marijuana use for recreational purposes has been legalized.
He clarified that the ministry is currently getting ready to introduce cannabis strains with a THC content of 0.3 into the nation, as they are not already grown there.
Minority Chief Whip Governs Kwame Agbodza, however, claims that this law is open to misuse and projects that cannabis production will not improve the nation’s prosperity.
Also Read: Former GWCL Employee Arrested for Alleged Theft of Water Pipes
He issued a warning, saying that the country’s already grave mental health crisis might get worse if the bill was passed and then abused.
“And none of you is talking about the potential of abuse and how that can degenerate into mental health problems we already have in this country. Why are we pretending that this is going to solve our problem? Minister? Do you even know how many people in this country are smoking weed?” he quizzed.
“Even electricity that the sources we produce we are known, we are unable to police the amount of electricity we produce in this country. You are not talking about giving license to people to produce weed. While I don’t have the potential of stopping this, the fact is that Ghana is blessed enough with gold, diamond and just recently we found E-Levy, none of them is able to save our country,” the MP added.
Sarah Adwoa Safo, the newly appointed Vice Chair of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, disagreed with Mr. Agbodza in the interim.
She claims that using cannabis for industrial and medical purposes will boost Ghana’s economy.
“We’re not talking about just a leaf in someone’s backyard, we’re talking about a whole industry that is been created. And if we have our fertile lands here, and we can grow and make sure that the right framework is in place, I don’t see why we can’t take advantage of it,” she said.
THC 0.3 cannabis has minimal to no psychotropic effects and can be used, among other things, to make paper, ropes, and other building materials.
