On Friday 20th March 2020, the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana passed into law the Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019, which transforms the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) into a Commission with enhanced powers to control and eliminate trafficking of prohibited narcotic drugs. The enhanced status of the Commission will enable it to ensure public safety as well as oversee the rehabilitation of people who become addicted to drugs.
Rastafari Council of Ghana applauds parliament for this visionary step and urges the government to take advantage of this opportunity to initiate policies to industrialize the production and processing of cannabis in Ghana as part of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.
The legalization of Cannabis in Ghana paves the way for sustainable job creation, income opportunities for households and marginalized populations, enhanced foreign capital remission through export, lawful access to medicinal advancements in cannabis, and the regeneration of lands which have been destroyed through surface mining and acts of environmental degradation.
The Council takes this opportunity to admonish the general public to abide faithfully by the regulatory requirements contained in the Act in order to realize its objects.
For its part, the Rastafari Council of Ghana looks forward to engaging further with Parliament and the various arms of government on ways to harness the enormous economic, medicinal and environmental prospects of cannabis legalization. The Council will continue to avail its intellectual, organizational and technical acumen to the public policy dialogue process, and remains in readiness to serve on committees and programs which will be instituted in furtherance of the aims of the Commission.
*THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:*
The Council being mindful of the current public health emergency which the COVID-19 virus presents in Ghana admonishes the general public to strictly observe the safety protocols which have been instituted to prevent the spread of the disease.
As the nation marshals its resources to combat the disease, the Council pledges its total support for the valiant individuals and institutions on the frontlines of the response effort.
COVID-19 threatens our common humanity and makes no discrimination of race, gender, economic status, social standing, educational status, religious or political ideology. The Council calls on all Ghanaians and persons domiciled in Ghana to pull together in unison against this present and existential threat.
Long live Ghana.
Long live our heritage at home and abroad.
Ahuma Bosco Ocansey
President