Ghana’s Parliament has approved the cultivation and utilization of cannabis for industrial and commercial purposes.
The approval comes on the heels of the endorsement of the Narcotics Control Commission Regulations 2023, which permits the legal growth of cannabis with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of 0.3.
Addressing the passage of the L.I, Interior Minister Ambrose Dery emphasized that this decision should not be misconstrued as the legalization of recreational marijuana.
He clarified that cannabis with a THC level of 0.3 is not currently cultivated in the country, and the ministry is actively preparing to import such varieties.
However, Minority Chief Whip Governs Kwame Agbodza expressed concerns about potential law misuse.
He cautioned that the cultivation of cannabis might not positively impact the country and could exacerbate existing mental health challenges.
“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.