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The Bill empowers the Ministry of Interior to grant a license for the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes.
The Supreme Court struck out provisions in the Narcotic Control Commission Act that allowed for the cultivation of certain kinds of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes arguing that it was legislated in violation of Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution.
A review application filed by the Office of the Attorney-General was however dismissed in a 5-4 decision.
Members of Parliament emphasized the value of growing specific varieties of cannabis during the legislative deliberations on changing the bill.
They emphasized the possible advantages that might result from utilizing cannabis’ characteristics for commercial and therapeutic purposes.
Since the Narcotics Control Commission Amendment Bill 2023 has been passed, the Ministry of Interior will now be in charge of providing cannabis growing permits.
This action is anticipated to support the expansion of the cannabis market in Ghana and present chances for further investigation of its possible uses.
The Ghanaian Parliament enacted the Narcotics Control Commission Bill on Friday, March 20. Many people who have been following the legislative process since the Bill’s initial introduction in 2015 expressed enormous delight about this.
Numerous Ghanaian civil society organizations (CSOs) applaud the government for this pivotal point in the history of the nation’s drug policy reform.
The new law makes significant strides toward more compassionate drug policy, and it will open the door for other sterling examples to appear in the area.
The goal of Ghana’s new drug law is to tackle drug usage and dependence as a public health concern, among other things.
The new law changed the punishment for drug possession for personal use from a prison sentence to a fine ranging from 200 to 500 penalty units, or GHC 2,400 to 6,000. Contrary to what some media sites have reported, this does not imply that drug usage has been made legal.
It indicates that they will provide alternatives to incarceration rather than putting individuals in prison for up to 10 years for the simple act of possessing drugs for personal use.
This is consistent with current initiatives to reduce jail overcrowding, such as the Justice for All program, which was launched in 2007.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Nana Kwaku Boffah
