The Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior is recommending the decriminalisation of the possession and use of marijuana (wee) and other related drugs.
The chairman of the committee, Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong stated this on the floor of the house on Wednesday, when he presented the report on the Narcotics Control Commission (NCC) Bill 2019.
He said mounting evidence showed that there was the need to move towards a new policy approach in which progress was measured by public health indicators such as the number of people receiving drug treatment, rather than being measured by seizures and arrests.
“Ghana needs to take a cue from other progressive countries and consider alternatives to punishment or incarceration of people who use drug and other alternatives to ending the criminalisation of people who use drugs.
“Criminalisation of drug use and possession has led to the arrest prosecution and incarceration of thousands of Ghanaians across the country,” the report noted.
Contributing, some members of Parliament argued that, it was time that Ghana took a decisive step to legalise commercial farming of the plant in the country.
Other members of the House, on the other hand, warned that this uncharted course for the nation could be counter-productive.
Others contended that, it was no secret that many farmers were using other farmlands for the cultivation of the ‘weed’ as it is locally known because of the high price it currently attracts on the international market.
In their argument, they made reference to the fact that presently, a gramme of cocoa bean was priced under US$ one cent (GH¢ 5.50 pesewas) while the same quantity for marijuana was fetching US$ 10.00 dollars approximately (GH¢54.00) on the world market.
It was their opinion that applying economics of scale under such circumstances clearly meant that marijuana could fetch the nation big revenue in terms of foreign exchange earnings better than cocoa was offering today.
The members said legalising the commercial cultivation of marijuana, the government could then apply strict control and supervision regimes to determine the quantity which needed to be cultivated, where it should be cultivated and who to cultivate the plant.
However, some members disagreed with the position that psychiatric hospitals across the country were already inundated with many young people for substance abuse, therefore, allowing for its commercial cultivation was untenable since this could worsen the already grievous situation.
They argued that the country would also not be in a position to handle the fall outs of drug related crime which could emerge when strong financiers take over the trade and begin a turf war which could prove too much for an already stress security agencies.
Nevertheless, Mr Acheampong whose presentation triggered the debate allayed the fears of both parties that since Ghana wanted to cautiously tread in the emerging global acceptance of legalisation of marijuana in commercial quantities, the bill as a first step sought to concentrate on the decriminalisation of usage of drugs and treat its addiction as a health-related issue.
He said the committee observed that the bill was in tandem with international practices adopted by the United Nation Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), adding that it was also a significant improvement and exchange on an already existing law, PNDC Law836.
Mr Acheampong observed that despite the prohibition legal framework which has been in existence with the decree under PNDC Law 836, the use of marijuana and cocaine have rather been on ascendency with thousands of people, especially, the youth using the drug.
“ The law caused more harm giving criminal records to many future young men and women with the criminal tags serving as an albatross on their neck for the their lives,” he said.
He said it was the believe of the committee that people who use drugs should be supported to overcome their problems rather than putting them behind bars for possession and tainting their lives forever.
BY LAWRENCE MARKWEI