The Chief Executive Officer of Hempire Association of Ghana, Nana Kweku Agyemang, says the legalization of Cannabis production in Ghana will provide more jobs to citizens.
Nana Kweku was grateful to parliament for the passage of the Narcotics Control Commission Amendment Bill 2023 which will grant the Minister for the Interior the authority to issue licenses for the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes.
He explained that the production of cannabis often referred to as ‘wee’ aside from generating revenue for the state will go a long way in reducing unemployment in the country.
“We have graduates who are leaving the universities and they are being told there are no jobs for them, they should go and fend for themselves but the establishment of this industry is something that could pull in their resources and the knowledge they have learned in the universities”.
“It is also great for the economy because now, the government of Ghana can have something whereby they will generate revenue internally from the taxes. If you look at other countries and what those governments have been making from the taxes alone, it has been huge, humongous” he noted in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on TV3.
“Then also, it is good for the environment because at the moment we are clamoring to deal with galamsey and there are farmers sitting there looking at lands they would previously pay peanuts for and those lands have been poisoned with mercury and other toxic chemicals.
“Well, I wish to inform you that when we cultivate industrial hemp on that land, those lands would be reclaimed because the industrial cannabis will absorb all the toxins over a period of time and the farmers will be able to go back to those farmlands and start cultivating high-value crops.
“The same is true with our water bodies, the cultivation of industrial cannabis in those water bodies and the banks will clean up those water bodies so that we can return to them and use them in our everyday day domestic lives.
“In medication, there are a lot of young people suffering from epilepsy and the oil from cannabis is something that can be used for all those features once and for all.”
Parliament on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, passed the Narcotics Control Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023. It is composed of a single clause aimed at empowering the Minister, to grant licenses for the cultivation of cannabis which has no more than 0.3 percent Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content.
The Bill further prohibits a person who has been granted a license under the Bill from cultivating cannabis for recreational use.