The Politics of Cannabis decriminalization in Africa – what Ghana and South Africa share with the rest of the continent

- Isaac Winful Dadzie, CEO of Line Research based in Accra shares a perspective 

With the passage of a new narcotics control law in Ghana to deal with limited-content of the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes, and with the announcement by President of South Africa, His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, in his State of the Nation’s Address (SONA) in 2020 where he stated that the next 12 months will see the commercial use of hemp and cannabis in South Africa, both countries bring light on others in the continent with shared experience in addressing the growing political demands with respect to decriminalization process. These two countries have different levels of engagements in addressing the concerns of various social groups fighting for the decriminalization of the narcotic plant. Countries like Zimbabwe had strict laws with long prison sentences of up to 10 years for even limited private use, however, in 2018, the country took progressive steps by legalizing the plant’s cultivation for medicinal purposes.  

Following the signing of a $56 million USD export deal with Soringa TM, the Hemp Association of Ghana (HAG) - with its able leader, Nana Kwaku Agyemang, is now in a position to implement the deal as Ghana passed and assented into law the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019) which seeks to convert powers to the country’s narcotics control body into a commission, to provide offenses related to narcotic drugs and plants cultivated for narcotic purposes and for related matters. The law also grants specific rights to businesses and individuals with lawful authority from the Minister to cultivate and export the use of cannabis for health and industrial purposes.  This latter comes as a special provision relating to cannabis in Section 43 that “(1) Despite the sections 39 to 42, the Minister, on the recommendations of the Commission, may grant a license for the cultivation of cannabis which has not more than 0.3% THC content on a dry weight basis for industrial purposes for obtaining fibre or seed or for medicinal purposes.” However, a caveat is imposed in Section 43 (2) that “For the avoidance of doubt, a license granted under subsection (1) shall not be for the cultivation of cannabis for recreational use.” 

Members of the Hempire Association of Ghana (HAG)

Although this particular development, in the case of Ghana, comes as part of the victory for the wider indirect users of the cannabis plant, some leading members of organizations like the Rastafari Council of Ghana (RCG) believe that the new law does not decriminalize the use of cannabis, after their prolonged encounter with the Ghana Police to get “permit” to stage a demonstration against the incessant arrest of mostly young Ghanaians who come into possession of the plant. In light of not being able to get a decriminalized law or a law which releases marijuana convicts from police and prison custodies, HAG, on the other hand, also sees the quest to this goal not yet complete.  

Even though HAG is not satisfied with the restriction on the adult recreational usage of the plant whether via smoking or consumption, the group appreciates the fact that industrial hemp is now reclassified under the new Ghanaian law and are hopeful that their financial deal will contribute to the global cannabis market which is estimated currently at over $100 billion and estimated for the next five years to peg the market size at a staggering US $300 billion.  

For Nana Kwaku Agyemang, who looks at the comparative advantage that Ghana has, he states that “many of the countries that are legalizing cannabis do not even have conducive weather to cultivate the plant and so they have to resort to expensive artificial greenhouses.” Ghana’s new law is yet to have its regulatory or legislative instrument to provide details of the implementation mechanism of the Act. The prospects for this industry in a country with arable land is so much great and can be a booster to resolving mass unemployment. 

Whilst this legal assent comes in the wake of several calls for the diversification of the local economy, farmers are gearing up for this emerging industry. A stakeholder meeting was held in February 2020 by HAG with groups of farmers to explain the prospects of the new law to them. Whereas farmers yearn to know the rules of the new business, many young people who are direct recreational users of cannabis are yet to fully understand the implication of the law. This has necessitated intense debate among key organizations fighting for the decriminalization of the plant. The centrality of the debate among intra pro-cannabis organizations in Ghana has involved whether the new law, is close to rolling down a closure to the curtain of their movement. Some key young activists of the RCG has, for instance, made it clear that the new law is highly unsatisfactory to their demands such as it failure to grant rights to people to smoke and use the substance for even above the 0.3% THC and also it failure to ensure the release of marijuana convicts. 

According to the RCG in its official responds to the parliamentary approval, the parliament of Ghana should be applauded for “this visionary step and urged 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”. They consider that this new law will pave the way for sustainable job creation, income opportunities for households and marginalized populations, enhanced foreign capital remission through export, create lawful access to medicinal advancements in cannabis, and the regeneration of lands. But because the discussion hasn’t ended the group looks forward to engaging further with the Parliament of Ghana and various arms of Government on ways to harness the enormous economic, medicinal and environmental prospects of cannabis legalization. To this end, the RCG is constituting its resource experts to avail themselves in this process, that is even to serve on committees and programs which will be instituted in furtherance of the aims of the law. Many of the means to address these issues and ways to continue the struggle has been part of series of conferences and other forms of dialogue held by the RCG. 

The politics of cannabis has brought about the case that decriminalization does not only start and stop at the feet of the casual consumer. It can also be extended to those who actually traffic cannabis and other drugs too. Calls for the release of convicted marijuana prisoners in Ghana and in the continent are growing and there are hopes of political victory even though some countries are tightening measures to deal with narcotic peddlers. As signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Pyschotropic Substance 1988, Ghana would use the new law as a measure to curb the drug menace in the West African sub-region by using the law to deter drug traffickers and take the profit out of the crime by depriving drug barons of the illicit property. 

The situation in South Africa is prolonging in the eyes of activists. The first country to adopt constitutional struggles towards decriminalization of cannabis in Africa was South Africa. Ghanaian activists fighting for the decriminalization of cannabis in Ghana took a lot of experience from the South African example. Unlike South Africa where litigation was initiated in the Constitutional Court, the model adopted in Ghana was not litigation but political agitation. However, the experience in South Africa has been slow by the Government in responding to the demands of the public.  

It is significant to ascertain here the extent to which cannabis is being decriminalized in South Africa. It has been over 20 months since the Constitutional Court of South Africa partially legalized cannabis. Three individuals, most pronouncing of them was a Rastafarian called Gareth Prince, separately challenged the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Drugs Act and Medicines Act in the High Court on the basis that these provisions violate the right to privacy (as contained in S14 of the South African Constitution). The High court declared the provisions of the Drugs Act which prohibits the use and cultivation of cannabis by an adult in private for personal consumption as unconstitutional. The same in the Medicines Acts was also declared unconstitutional.  

The High court identified that the provisions of the legislation unduly and unfairly limited the right to privacy. The matter was therefore transferred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation. The Constitutional court affirmed the decision of the High Court and further removed the limitation imposed by the High court to allow the use, possession or cultivation of cannabis restrictively to a person’s home or private dwelling. The court held that ones’ right to privacy extends beyond the boundaries of the home and therefore meant that adult persons are now permitted to use, possess and cultivate cannabis in a private place for personal consumption. In the wisdom of the court, it gave the ANC two years to finalize and publish laws which control the personal usage of cannabis. Since 18th September 2018, the general public is still eager to know how much dope is legal to possess, and what punishment are there for violating its overboard. 

Recently, a direction to help curb people’s worry was given when the President, Cyril Ramaphosa, confirmed during his State of the Nation’s Address in 2020 that the next 12 months will see the commercial use of hemp and cannabis products accelerated. This meant that markets like medical hemp and the legal consumption of the plant will be allowed to boom with government support and approval. Ramaphosa told parliamentarians that small-scale farmers and independent cannabis manufacturers will soon receive guidelines on how they will be allowed to operate under a new, more relaxed environment:  

This year we will open up and regulate the commercial use of hemp products providing opportunities for small-scale farmers; and formulate policies on the use of cannabis products for medicinal purposes, to build this industry in line with global trends. The regulatory step will soon be announced by the relevant Ministers. - President of South Africa, SONA 2020

The need for cannabis within Africa’s population requires a certain kind of awareness and history for the media and other stakeholders to embrace. It has become some of the major headache of the Rastafari Council of Ghana in convincing the general public of its useful purposes. A recount of history reveals that during the 18th century, cannabis was a major cash crop that was exported from the plantations in Africa to America and Europe. It was used as an alternative fuel source. It made fabrics and at that time was a major commodity for the pharmaceutical companies. The clampdown on cannabis in the US began in the early 1920s. Since 1996 California in the US has legalized the sale of Cannabis strictly for medical use. Since also then another 20 plus States and European nations have also done same with others allowing its recreational use.  

The recent global pandemic of coronavirus where millions have been infected and thousands confirmed dead has made many health research centres looking for treatments and vaccines. Cannalogue, one of Canada’s platform for medical cannabis and licensed producer in March 2020 applied to Health Canada for clinical trials in the fight against coronavirus using medical cannabis. As a rapid-emerging online healthcare technology company, it will enroll patients into the research study to determine if medical cannabis can reduce the symptoms caused by COVID-19 or any mutant strains of coronavirus. Africa stands in a strong position to benefit from search clinical trials as the continent’s pharmaceutical companies can explore maximum use of cultivated cannabis in the fight against COVID-19. 

The politics of social change in fighting for the rights of cannabis users in Africa has a prolonged journey but every given space that is won by activists, most particularly in Ghana by the Hemp Association of Ghana and the Rastafarian community, is something that can gainfully be linked to the growth of the economy and job creation. Although the recent fight for decriminalization with a renewed legislation in the Ghanaian political landscape reflects a piece-meal victory, it has been won in a rapid short period, but South Africans are yet to see how their Government will roll out new legislations and policies to conform with the decisions of the court to give practical commercial meaning to the new rights accorded to cannabis users and cultivators.