Parliament Passes Law To Allow Industrial Cultivation Of Wee: Licences To Be Issued By Interior Ministry

• The Parliament of Ghana has followed through on its promise to once again pass a law that allows for the industrial cultivation of cannabis
• The amended Narcotics Control Commission Amendment Bill 2023 will give the interior ministry authority to issue licences for the cultivation of the plant
• MPs said the passage of the bill that will allow the cultivation of the plant for medicinal purposes was important

Ghana's Parliament has for the second time passed a bill that allows the cultivation of wee (cannabis) for industrial and medicinal purposes.

The amended Narcotics Control Commission Amendment Bill 2023 now grants the interior ministry the authority to give out licences for the cultivation of the product.

This move by Parliament allows the plant to be used for many progressive and industrial purposes that will benefit many people.

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Supreme Court previously struck out cultivation of wee

In June 2023, Ghana's Supreme Court stoked controversy by ruling that a law passed by Parliament allowing the cultivation of the plant in Ghana was unconstitutionally passed by the Legislative body.

The ruling was by a majority 5-4 decision, inviting fierce criticism from the Speaker of Parliament.

The Supreme Court invalidated provisions within the Narcotic Control Commission Act that permitted the cultivation of specific types of plants for medicinal and industrial purposes.

The court had earlier, in July 2022, struck out Section 43 of the Narcotics Narcotics Control Commission Act, Act 1019, prohibiting the cultivation of the plant.

Bill amended by Parliament and passed into law

In Parliament on Wednesday, MPs said the law to allow the cultivation of the plant for medicinal purposes was important.

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They underscored the potential benefits that can be derived from harnessing the properties of the wee plant for industrial and medicinal uses.

Parliament then amended portions of the bill and passed it. It will become full-fledged once the President assents it.

Parliament takes on Supreme Court for reversing law to licence wee farmers

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported in a separate story that the Speaker of Parliament criticised the Supreme Court for striking out a law legalising weed cultivation.

The interior minister described the Supreme Court's decision to reverse the earlier legalisation of the plant's cultivation as a grievous error.

Parliament then announced that it has restarted processes to enact a law to legalise the farming of some strains of wee.

Chief arrested for cultivating a two-acre wee farm

Last year, the Police Command in Wenchi Municipal arrested the Krontihene of Badu-Adamu, near Tain district, Nana Kwasi Dapaah for cultivating a farm suspected to be marijuana.

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According to the police, the large plantation of marijuana is about two acres within the district.

The police say they followed up on the matter and discovered the ‘weed’ farm after they were tipped off by a Good Samaritan.

The suspect, Nana Kwasi Dapaah was said to have admitted to be the owner of the two-acre farm upon interrogation, leading to his arrest.

Source: YEN.com.gh