On last Thursday a top Ghanaian musician and Government critique, Kwame A Plus, boldly stated that the Police should stop arresting “wee” smokers and release all convicted persons of cannabis.  According to A Plus, too many young people have wasted their lives in jail just because they were caught in possession of the leaf plant.

At the moment, the laws of Ghana are against the use of cannabis for recreational use. However, many people feel that it is time to allow adult usage of cannabis for recreational use. This comes at the back of an effective regulatory framework where every value-chain of the cannabis industry to consumption is well crafted and systematically guarded.

His post on Facebook generated diverse reactions, some included Bright Duffs, who says;

“Honestly, it makes very little sense. Marijuana is just as dangerous as tobacco. If tobacco can be regulated and used, so can marijuana and hemp. In more civilized countries, legalization is the order of the day as more people have come to understand the nature of weed. However, in our country where pipo think vaccines are meant for our complete eradication, any attempt to even elicit an intellectual discourse on the legalization of weed draws the ire of the people like Armageddon is today. You will be branded a wee-nii and mocked from Santasi to Papua New Guinea. I add my view to yours and say it's high past time!”

 Frimpong Unique also says;

“Although I am not wee smoker but, it always pains me when I see police beating and arresting them like criminals.”

So it can most likely happen that there are both users and non-users of the substance whose wish is to see the law improved to make way for the release of convicted persons prosecuted for the possession of the plant.

Calls for the release of convicted persons in possession of cannabis have severally been made by prominent celebrities like Daddy Bosco, Nana Kwaku Agyemang, Ras Aswad Nkrabeah, Blakk Rasta and many others including some musical artists. Recent to add his voice is the popular activist, Kwame A Plus, who is also famous for his People’s Project.

This awakened development brings the need to ensure that the benefits of cannabis are objectively propagated through the media on the fact that its positives far outweighs its negatives and that countries that have developed have now begun to legalize the herbal plant.

The Ghanaian youth would be grateful if full decriminalization takes place and convicted marijuana users are released. There are important steps to take in this struggle but ultimately people haven learnt about the significance of cannabis use and would soon begin to amplify the call for full decriminalization.