In 2020, Ghana's Parliament passed the Narcotics Control Commission Act into law, paving the way for the use of cannabis and hemp for industrial, medical and research purposes. Within it, the Narcotics Control Board was transformed into the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) and given a new mandate which, alongside traditional drug control responsibilities, includes issuing licenses for cannabis cultivation.
While there have been past issues with establishing a legal cannabis industry, it should be well on the way to implementation. Now, over five years since the Act's assent, NACOC has still not issued any cannabis licenses, preventing any legal cultivation to actually take place. Cannabis cultivation, for any legal purpose, remains de facto criminalised.
In August of this year, the Director-General of NACOC, Brigadier General Maxwell Mantey, met with the Moroccan Ambassador to Ghana to get more information on how to cultivate, market and regulate cannabis since Morocco is amongst a handful of countries on the African continent that are into cannabis and hemp production.
As it stands, Ghanaian hemp and medical cannabis entrepreneurs and businesses remain in limbo, awaiting clarity from Parliament on details about when licenses' costs, timeframes and requirements. Some have voiced doubts about how accessible licenses will be. According to Nana Kwaku Agyemang, the President of Hempire Association of Ghana (HAG), sky-high fees and other high barriers to participate in the market are expected.
Read more at Talking Drugs
