The Chairman

Parliamentary Select Committee on Defense and Interior

Parliament House

Accra

 

Dear Sir,

PETITION TO THE PARLIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE AND INTERIOR ON THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA IN GHANA

INTRODUCTION

This petition to the Select Committee on Defense and Interior on the Decriminalization of Marijuana in Ghana follows an earlier petition by the Rastafari Council of Ghana to the Narcotics Control Board on the issue of Decriminalization last year. The Board responded with a directive that we send a petition to your committee with our views hence this petition.

ISSUES:

The key issues surrounding the marijuana debate are social, medicinal and economic. For the purposes of this petition, we will discuss the social issues affecting the marijuana debate and the medicinal and economic benefits that can accrue from a decriminalization of marijuana in Ghana. This petition will not discuss the historical precedents to the criminalization of marijuana use which has its roots in the anti-communist agenda the Commissioner of Narcotics in the Narcotics Bureau of the United States of America in 1937.

Decriminalizing will influence the way in which the police treat the young men of this country when confronting them during police operations. Cannabis is illegal and many young men use it. The truth is, that out of the number of young men who use cannabis, only a very small percentage of them are actually involved in violent criminal activity, their only crime being the possession of a controlled substance; a victimless non violent crime. Surely, an individual with 1GHC worth of vegetative material on his or her person cannot be considered a danger to anyone.



Decriminalizing will affect the way in which the police manage their operations. With limited resources, the police need to prioritize their operations. Which operation is more important to the citizens of the country? An eradication exercise, where the police spend time and money searching for marijuana plantations, where they find themselves in isolated areas for long periods, far removed from populated areas, so that when a serious crime is being committed, they are way out of reach. 

On the other hand, a patrol exercise where the police make their presence felt by maximum exposure in populated areas and hot spots. If the effects of the two operations were assessed, the patrol presence would have a much more positive effect on crime reduction. A strong police presence would make would-be criminals think twice about committing a crime. The combined effect of a greater police presence, as well as a more respectful and co-operative ghetto youth will obviously have a positive effect in the fight against violent crime.



Decriminalizing would allow the cannabis industry to develop and grow, both on the industrial hemp side of the industry as well as the ‘ganja’ side of the industry, providing much needed jobs and money for Ghanaian economy 

Decriminalizing will assist the justice system by reducing the number of drug cases the courts have to deal with, as no longer will cannabis offenses require the courts to deliberate over them. This in turn saves the courts valuable time in dealing with more serious cases, easing the backlog of existing cases, and saving the taxpayers money that would have been spent on prosecuting individuals for frivolous offenses.



Decriminalizing will have a positive impact on the overcrowding problem being experienced at the prison facilities in Ghana as all persons imprisoned for cannabis offenses can be freed by way of an amnesty. 

Persons that would have been sentenced for marijuana offenses will no longer have to serve jail time, which will create much desired space for violent criminals who need to be removed from civil society. The taxpayer will no longer have to feed people in prison who should not be there in the first place and who could have been making a positive contribution to society. It costs the country an estimated 4GHC or more daily to house an inmate. In these hard economic times, saving this much money is prudent.

 

Former U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan has said "Drugs are dangerous, but current narcotics policies are an even bigger threat because punishment is given a greater priority than health and human rights. It's time for regulations that put lives and safety first....Policy based on common assumptions and popular sentiments can become a recipe for mistaken prescriptions and misguided interventions.....Nowhere is this divorce between rhetoric and reality more evident than in the formulation of global drug policies, where too often emotions and ideology rather than evidence have prevailed." He further suggests "By looking carefully at the evidence from the United States, we now know that legalizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes has not, as opponents argued, led to an increase in its use by teenagers. By contrast, there has been a near tripling of American deaths from heroin overdoses between 2010 and 2013, even though the law and its severe punishments remain unchanged."

On the harms of continued prohibition, he has this view "By looking carefully at the evidence from the United States, we now know that legalizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes has not, as opponents argued, led to an increase in its use by teenagers. By contrast, there has been a near tripling of American deaths from heroin overdoses between 2010 and 2013, even though the law and its severe punishments remain unchanged." Mr Annan therefore recommends the decriminalization of recreational drugs and the legalization of marijuana among others.

Meanwhile the report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy which includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, challenges the conventional wisdom about drug markets and drug use. The group recommends among other measures, the legalization of marijuana and the end of criminalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do not harm others. It is in the same regard that the Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Authority, Mr. Akrasi Sarpong has also called for the decriminalization and regulation of the marijuana trade.

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

There are multiple social dimensions relating to the use of marijuana. Due to the current laws, there is social stigmatization rising from the criminalization of marijuana use. The Rastafari Council therefore calls on your august body to provide the required leadership to ensure that people who use marijuana are not criminalized and their lives negatively affected.

MEDICINAL BENEFITS:

The medical benefits of marijuana are myriad and we will urge your august body to take a cue from developments globally to access the medicinal properties of marijuana which has been heralded by former anti marijuana campaigners like Dr Sanjay Gupta a Medical Correspondent of CNN. Among other properties, the therapeutic value of marijuana has been well established. It has been successfully used for pain relief, control of nausea, appetite stimulation and relief from the symptoms of HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, PTSD and other ailments. It has also been discovered that amazing as it is we are all fundamentally wired with marijuana through the Endocannabinoid System which influences multiple physiological processes.  The herb could prove useful in a variety of other applications if patients are allowed to use it.

ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS:

The economic value of marijuana cannot be overstated. In addition to its various uses in many industries from the automobile, energy to fashion industries, etc, it can also be used as a cash crop yielding invaluable revenues to our ailing economy. The examples of Uruguay where its sale and cultivation is controlled by the state to the coffee shops of Amsterdam and States like Colorado where marijuana sale is yielding huge revenues provide crucial learning points for us. Here in Ghana, decriminalization and state regulation of the industry will yield revenue streams that will support district, municipal and metropolitan authorities as well as the national government.

Such a development will lead to the state making revenue from the marijuana trade instead of the current situation where some unscrupulous law enforcement and security agents are conniving with the dealers and making money for their private use.

RECOMMENDATION:

In view of the foregoing, the Rastafari Council strongly recommends that the Government of Ghana amend the Narcotic Controlled Act to create a criminal exemption scheme under which the production and sale of cannabis will be licensed.  It should be noted at the outset that the Council suggests cigarette manufacturers should be prohibited from producing and selling cannabis, the Rastafari Council supports the calls for decriminalization of the herb and suggests the formation of a commission to regulate the trade in marijuana. Ghana should notify the international community  of her intent to seek the declassification of cannabis as a public health and basic human rights approach. We are available to offer any insights and suggestions if we are invited to serve on such a commission.

We look forward to a favorable response from your committee and a possible appearance to further address this issue.

I remain,

Yours Sincerely

 

Khex Pongo

Chairman

Committee on Advocacy