The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has raised an alarm over a growing new trend of cannabis being infused into everyday food items, such as the popular local snack nkosua ne meko and ice cream, and sold to unsuspecting students in tertiary institutions across the country.
Deputy Director Alexander Twum-Barima, speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, June 25, said the trend was part of a deliberate shift in how cannabis derivatives were being concealed and distributed, moving away from conventional forms into ordinary food items that are far harder to detect.
“This egg and pepper — the normal nkosua ne meko that they sell by the roadside — has cannabis infused in it,” he said.
He was particularly worried about vendors setting up food stands during school activity periods on campuses, to distribute cannabis-laced products to students who may have no idea what they are consuming under the cover of selling ordinary snacks.
“You go to that stand to buy ice cream, and that ice cream you are buying is cannabis infused,” he warned. “It is very difficult to understand why someone who is in the university will decide to set up a stand during school activity time and sell an infused cannabis product instead of something educational.”
Twum-Barima said the development posed serious public health and regulatory risks, particularly in academic environments where young people could be exposed to controlled substances without their knowledge or consent.
The Narcotics Control Commission said it was responding by strengthening surveillance on campuses and expanding sensitisation efforts in educational institutions to curb the evolving threat before it takes deeper root.
