ECOWAS applauds Parliament for approving Narcotics Control Commission Bill

The Drug Control and Prevention Division of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has lauded Ghana’s parliament for passing into law the Narcotics Control Commission Bill.

The bill, passed by Parliament in 2023, allows the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes.

Speaking at the sidelines of an event to launch the 2020-2022 West African Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (WENDU) Report, the Principal Programme Officer for the Division, Daniel Amankwaah, emphasized the need to strengthen law enforcement in combating illicit drug trafficking across the sub-region.

“It’s a milestone because this thing started long ago; people have been talking about the legalization of cannabis. I’m one of the advocates who said that let’s find an alternative to marijuana because we may not be able to eradicate it. We find ways of using it to our benefit, so Ghana has taken the lead for industrial purposes, medicinal purposes. That is very good. Once we have the medical issues being addressed here, that’s good; it is what the member state wants that ECOWAS will implement.

When you look at the trend in other parts of the world, in the US, as of May, there were about 19 States that had legalized for recreational purposes,” the Principal Program Officer for the Drug Prevention and Control Division of ECOWAS remarked.

Meanwhile, the Narcotic Control Commission (NACOC) says Ghana has made significant progress in tackling the menace of illicit drug supply and usage through the ECOWAS drug action plan.

“Let me announce that Ghana is making steady progress in the area of drug demand reduction. Ghana is also adopting available evidence-based synthetic approaches in treating persons with substance use disorders,” Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh said.

He expressed the Commission’s commitment to combating drug-related challenges.

“Our commitment to combating drug-related challenges is unwavering,” he assured.

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