Rastafari council calls for legalisation of cannabis in Ghana
A call has been made for the cultivation and use of cannabis to be legalised.
This is because although the plant is widely associated with criminality, it holds great prospects for rapid socio-economic growth.
Mr Ahuma Ocansey, President of the Rastafari Council of Ghana, said this on Tuesday in Accra, at the First National Cannabis Conference.
Themed, “Ghana beyond Aid; the Cannabis Contribution”, the day’s conference sought to raise awareness on the benefits of cannabis.
He said the time had come for arguments based on scientific research, and devoid of all forms of bias to be held on the legalisation of cannabis in the country, adding that it was only by doing so, that the good qualities of the plant would be appreciated.
Mr Ocansey said the benefits of cannabis were such that decriminalising its usage, whilst putting in place the right regulations, would make the plant a core means of wealth generation in the country.
Touching on what he termed widely held misconceptions concerning cannabis, Mr Ocansey said over the years, misinformation by governments the world over “has painted the image of the hemp plant in a very very scary way, far from what the plant is actually capable of achieving”.
He continued, “the good news is that most developed countries have realised their mistakes and begun to make the once important agricultural commodity legal to cultivate again.”
Mr Ocansey said to unleash the potential in cannabis with a view to support the country’s socio-economic growth, there was the need for intensified education on the true benefits of cannabis.
Mr Godfred Aboagye, co-founder of the International Cannabis Company, said with Africa steadily growing in the international cannabis market space, it was important for Ghana to aim towards producing within the best standards, under the right regulations.
He said the lives of the youth in Ghana could see immense improvement, if the country excelled in cannabis production within West Africa.
Mr. Aboagye called on the government and all other stakeholders, to support the country’s universities with research into the uses of cannabis, in order to unearth the real essence of the plant.
Source: GNA