Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has clarified Parliament has not passed a bill which allows the free usage of ‘weed’ in the country.
He has also warned that individuals who engage in the discussions that Ghana has passed a bill allowing the smoking of weed are wrong.
The misconceptions and misrepresentations currently going on in the public domain emanating from the passage of the Narcotics Control Amendment Bill 2023 have caused the Speaker to put the matter in proper context.
Addressing parliament on Thursday, he said the misconception will have negative consequences on the law, hence his clarification and further urged parliamentarians to also help in clearing the errors.
He stated that the grade cannabis which was for the industrial purpose was not found in Ghana and it will be something that has to be brought into the country.
Mr Bagbin, therefore, warned against the wholesaling receptions by a section of the public that Ghana’s Parliament has legalised the cultivation and usage of cannabis locally known as weed.
The Speaker further stressed that the stakeholders, including the judiciary for the purpose of the action of parliament were not and have never been to legalise the recreational use and cultivation of cannabis.
In this vein, he added the use and smoking of weed will still be illegal and for that purpose, the public must be notified.
Mr Bagbin has, therefore, called on the security agencies to understand that harnessing the potential of low-grade cannabis for commercial and medical purposes must be treated differently from that which is used illegally, to ensure “the safety, control and protection of society and the citizenry.”
