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…But On June 26, the UN International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Chairman\/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, in no uncertain terms, warned that Nigeria runs the risk of becoming a nation of junkies if the government legalises cannabis.<\/p>\n
He merely stated the obvious because Nigeria already
\nhas an acute cannabis problem. With at least 10.6 million of the country\u2019s population abusing illicit substance, Nigeria holds an unenviable record as the country with the highest number of cannabis abusers.<\/p>\n
This fact has a tincture of irony: a country where cannabis is outlawed but has more people using cannabis than in countries where the substance is legalised. What\u2019s worse, Nigerians do not use cannabis for therapeutic or religious purposes. The use is purely recreational.<\/p>\n
This is one of the reasons NDLEA secretary, Shadrach
\nHaruna regards the call for legalisation of cannabis as
\none borne \u201cout of the poverty of knowledge.\u201d
\nDescribing as \u201cnot well informed\u201d promoters of legal- isation of cannabis cultivation, Haruna counterargues:
\n\u201cThere is no plant in the forest that has no medicinal
\nvalue. Even the World Health Organization agreed
\ncannabis has medicinal value but still considered it
\na very harmful drug. It is the most abused of all the
\ndrugs, not just because it\u2019s available, but also because
\nit\u2019s very cheap. You can even grow it in your room.<\/p>\n
So, its medicinal or commercial value notwithstand- ing, the impact of cannabis on public health is huge.\u201d
\nHe further points out that countries allowing regulated
\ngrowth of cannabis for commercial purposes are cultivating the variant with little or no tetrahydrocannabinol.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust the way cassava leaves look similar, cannabis
\nleaves with tetrahydrocannabinol and the ones without it, are alike. Many countries, including developed
\ncountries, cannot still make a distinction by merely
\nlooking at the leaves. So the best thing to do it, to stay
\nsafe, is to not go near it,\u201d he stresses.<\/p>\n
As to the global status of cannabis as a psychotropic
\nsubstance, he clarifies: \u201cThe UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, move cannabis from Schedule 4 to Schedule 1, where it will be made available for research purposes and medicinal use, but countries still have the right to maintain strict control over cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, when in December 2019, the 53-member UN
\nCommission on Narcotic Drugs voted to delete cannabis from Schedule 4 (Prescription Only Medicine), nine of the 11 African members, including Nigeria, had voted against it. Nonetheless, it remains under Schedule 1 (drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse) and therefore still under strict international control.<\/p>\n
The NDLEA secretary finds the argument about the
\neconomic value of cannabis rather galling: \u201cHere in
\nNigeria, the focus is on the commercial value of canna- bis. What commercial value are we looking at? Money at the expense of the health of citizens?\u201d
\nFor him, there is a need for discretion in the utterances of cannabis advocates, some of whom are in high offices. Unbridled statements on their part could be
\nmisconstrued by gullible youths as an endorsement of
\nan illegal act, he cautions. \u201cThis is important because
\ncannabis is still illegal,\u201d Haruna stresses.<\/p>\n
Nigeria\u2019s UNDOC country representative, Oliver Stolpe also punches a hole in the pro-cannabis argument.
\n\u201cMy understanding of the proposal is basically to legalise the production of cannabis in a very controlled manner, in order to commercialise it for medical and scientific use. As far as I understand it, it would not contradict and would be possible under the international drug control framework,\u201d
\nobserves Stolpe.<\/p>\n
The critical issue, however, he says, borders on the country\u2019s capability to regulate access, distribution and production of cannabis.<\/p>\n
Stolpe reflects: \u201cWe should never forget that in Nigeria, the second biggest drug being used are medical products that are theoretically regulated in terms of access, that should not be accessible without prescription. We should keep that in mind because that means this is probably also going to happen when we are legalising the production of cannabis, that we will have trouble controlling the production process; we will have trouble at preventing diversion into illegal markets and as a result, regulatory and control gap is likely to occur. We should be very cautious going forward with such legislative intervention.\u201d
\nThe health implications of the use of cannabis, he also
\nstresses, \u201cshould also be taken into account before any move dealing with cannabis cultivation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…But On June 26, the UN International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Chairman\/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, in no uncertain terms, warned that Nigeria runs the risk of becoming a nation of junkies if the government legalises cannabis. He merely stated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n