Cannabis, commonly referred to as 'Igbo' or 'Weed' in Nigeria, is one of the most widely used illegal drugs in the world. According to the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime, the African continent has the highest levels of cannabis production in the world. Despite its illegal status, the cultivation and use of Cannabis in Nigeria dates to the early 20th century.
Farmers in the rural areas often grow the plant in remote locations, hidden from law enforcement, and it is frequently intercropped with legal crops to avoid detection. The practice is driven largely by economic factors, as cannabis offers higher profit compared to traditional agriculture.
Cannabis is a group of plants that includes Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. It has been used for various purposes such as medicinal use to treat conditions like chronic pain, anxiety, and epilepsy. Some countries have legalized the used of medical Cannabis for treating patients. In some countries cannabis has been legalized for recreational use and for industrial purpose.
Cannabis was not an indigenous plant in Nigeria, but it was introduced by returning Soldiers and sailors, while the origin of cannabis is unclear in Nigeria. However, the widespread use of the substance is believed to have been facilitated by its role in alleviating fear among young men during the war. Another promoting factor of cannabis in Nigeria is the Influence of Fela Kuti a popular musician who was famous for using cannabis on stage while performing his music.
Fela Kuti, a popular Nigerian musician known for his advocacy and use of cannabis on stage.
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Legal Framework on Cannabis Regulations in Nigeria
The laws around cannabis in Nigeria are complex and reflect a mix of history, culture, and economic issues. While cannabis is illegal under laws like the NDLEA Act and the Indian Hemp Act, there is a need to look into the potential benefits for health and the economy. However, there are still serious concerns about public health and safety. The NDLEA is firmly against legalization, fearing it could lead to more drug use and related problems.
Additionally, Nigeria’s commitment to International Drug Control Treaties makes any changes challenging, it is important for Nigerian leaders to consider both the advantages and risks of cannabis regulation.
Key Legislations
- The NDLEA Act: The NDLEA Act is the primary legislation that regulates the control and prohibition of drugs, including cannabis in Nigeria. The NDLEA Act establishes the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) as a body charged with the responsibility of eradicating drug related offence. The power of the Agency includes the authority to conduct search, seize, investigation, arrest, and prosecution of individuals involved in drug trafficking or possession and to confiscate any proceeds or property derived from drug related activities. Individuals found in possession of Cannabis shall be guilty of an offence and imprisonment for a term not less than fifteen years but not exceeding 25 years.
- The Indian Hemp Act: The Indian Hemp Act is one of the key pieces of legislation in Nigeria that criminalizes cannabis. It prohibits the cultivation, possession and trafficking of cannabis in Nigeria. The law targets individuals who engage in the act of planting or cultivating cannabis plants. The act of planting or cultivating these plants is deemed a criminal offense under this law. It implies that the cultivation of cannabis is illegal and punishable by law, reflecting a strict stance against the use or spread of cannabis. The punishment prescribed by the Act reflects a long-term approach to incarceration, emphasizing the serious nature of the crime.
Challenges in Enforcement
The NDLEA frequently faces several challenges that limit its operational capacity:
- Resource Limitations
- Corruption within law enforcement agencies
- Inadequate Training for personnel
- Limited Public Awareness and Support
The Debate Surrounding Legalization
The debate surrounding cannabis legalization is gaining traction globally, and Nigeria is no exception. Till date, cannabis and all other narcotic substances remains illegal and is under the control of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) which has the power to enforce and prevent the growing, processing, manufacturing, selling, exporting, and trafficking of cannabis in Nigeria. There have been continuous arguments about the need for legalization of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes.
Globally, the movement for the legalization of cannabis has gained a lot of attention from advocate stating its medical importance. Culturally, Cannabis has established presence in various Nigerian communities, despite its illegal status. This acceptance challenges the narrative that cannabis is wholly harmful. Advocates argue that while cannabis may have adverse effects, similar substances like alcohol and tobacco are legally available despite their known health risks.
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The economic implications of legalizing marijuana in Nigeria are significant. Legalization could open up a lucrative market, providing opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs. The potential for job creation in cultivation, processing, and retail is considerable, particularly in a nation with high unemployment rates. Irrespective of the medical and economic benefits, cannabis is also known to induce mental disorder and internationally, it is still considered as a dangerous substance and must be properly managed with strict regulation.
In Nigeria, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) plays a central role in shaping drug laws and policies, and it remains firmly opposed to the legalization of cannabis in any form. The NDLEA has raised several concerns regarding legalization, asserting that it could lead to increased usage and create issues such as chaos, criminality, and violence. They argue that regulating the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes also comes with challenges, making it difficult to ensure that it is grown under controlled conditions. While there are recognized therapeutic benefits associated with cannabis, the NDLEA contends that, given the current Nigerian context, the potential risks outweigh the advantages. As a result, the debate over legalizing cannabis has been impeded, with no considerable progress.
Regulating the use of cannabis has gained a lot of global attention, Nigeria as a signatory to key United Nations treaties, is a party to the international framework that classifies cannabis as a controlled substance. Nigeria signed this treaty, which classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug, restricting its use to medical and scientific purposes. The Convention aim to combat drug abuse by harmonized international action and prevent the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture, and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. Nigeria is also a party to this convention, which further regulates psychoactive substances but focuses on other drugs. The Convention on Psychotropic Substances establishes a comprehensive International Control System for various psychotropic substances, which include a range of drugs that affect mental processes.
Cannabis and the Nigerian Economy
The main findings show that livelihoods are not only made from legal crops. In fact, it is illicit cannabis, with its illegality premium, that made a difference to our interviewees’ lives in Nigeria. Understanding what roles cannabis plays in people’s lives can help to inform alternative and possibly better drug policies.
We learned from our interviewees that cannabis farming and trade offered socioeconomic benefits. For many, cannabis had become the main source of income, fetching far more than traditional crops, such as cocoa. These benefits, which need to be seen in the context of widespread poverty, unemployment and income precarity, were the main reason they engaged in these activities. For most rural dwellers cannabis farming served as a means of income generation and diversification to meet basic needs.
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Many of the farmers we interviewed told us that they used the proceeds of cannabis farming to feed their families, send their children to school, and provide shelter for their households. For those who worked as transporters and retailers of cannabis in the city, cannabis provided the income to meet their own needs and those of their dependants. The ability to meet basic needs in turn made many of them feel better about themselves.
Contrary to popular views, it was not just uneducated and socially deviant individuals who were engaged in cannabis farming or trade. Our interviewees included university graduates, traditional healers, village elders and other community members who otherwise lived largely law-abiding lives. For example, one of our interviewees was a university graduate who returned to the village to farm cannabis because he saw it as a better livelihood than paid employment. And some farmers switched from farming other cash crops, including cocoa and cassava, to commercial cannabis because it was more lucrative. While most continued to grow other crops for subsistence or income, cannabis served as their major cash crop. In some cases, the cultivation of cocoa, cassava and other crops was used as a cover to avoid the threat of detection by police officers.
The socioeconomic benefits of cannabis farming and trading did not cancel out its stigma. The cannabis plant, which has long been associated with deviance and mental disorder among Nigerians, is widely demonised. Growing, trading and using it is subject to social opprobrium.
Cannabis cultivation in Nigeria
Our interviewees repeatedly told us about the lack of legitimacy that they experience and how this adversely affects their self-esteem. They also told us about the effects of drug criminalisation and police raids on cannabis farms and retail sales outlets (known locally as “bunks”). Sometimes they set aside money to bribe law enforcers. These measures often amounted to significant financial expenditures that could undercut profits or threaten their cannabis livelihoods.
The group of growers we spoke to wanted the stigma to be lifted and to produce their crop legally. They knew of cannabis legalisation elsewhere and hoped that eventual legalisation in Nigeria would make their livelihoods respectable. They also expressed concerns about a potential takeover of the future legal cannabis market by wealthy, urban-based politicians seeking new investment opportunities.
It does not look as if their wishes are likely to materialise soon in Nigeria. Aside from social conservatism, there are institutional reasons why legalisation or any other drug policy change is resisted by Nigerian politicians, officials and law enforcers. For one thing, some law enforcers have made their own livelihoods from policing the illegal cannabis market. Still, the farmers we spoke to made it clear they would not give up farming what they considered as their “leaf of wealth”.
Medical Marijuana Laws in Nigeria
Cannabis has had a long history of use throughout Africa, but many scholars believe it wasn’t until the years following World War II that the plant gained traction in Nigeria. Returning soldiers from the North African and Eastern fronts brought seeds home, and cannabis cultivation proliferated throughout the following decades. In response, the Nigerian authorities began to arrest cannabis farmers and seize imported cannabis from other parts of Africa.
The United Kingdom’s colonial-era Dangerous Drugs Act of 1935 outlawed cannabis consumption, while the Indian Hemp Act of 1966 decreed the death penalty for those who cultivated hemp or cannabis, though subsequent amendments removed death sentences and increased jail time up to life imprisonment.
Marijuana use continued spreading despite these arrests in the 1970s by soldiers to bolster courage and by young Nigerians in the 1980s and 90s. During Nigeria’s military Junta in the 1980s, rulers issued Decree 20, which enabled the death penalty as a punishment for drug trafficking. In the 1990s, “Operation Burn the Weeds” eradicated thousands of hectares of cannabis crops.
This drug policy remains in effect today, but recent government moves by Nigerian states persons have shown a shifting stance towards cannabis use in modern times. In 2019 and 2020, the Ondo State Governor called for legalizing cannabis for medical use. In 2020, the Nigerian House proposed a bill to allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis for medical and cosmetic use and research purposes.
Another bill in 2023 echoed this previous legislation, seeking to further amend Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, or NDLEA Act, to allow the national agency to issue licenses for the sale, use, and cultivation of marijuana.
What to Know About About Medical Cannabis in Nigeria
You cannot access medical or recreational cannabis in Nigeria. Similarly, you cannot bring it into the country. If you’re planning a visit to the area, it is recommended that you leave your cannabis (including CBD) at home, even if you have a medical marijuana card.
CBD Is Illegal in Nigeria
Nigerian law doesn’t differentiate between CBD and THC-rich marijuana, stating that any “part of the plant of the genus Cannabis” is illegal. This means CBD and CBD products are prohibited in Nigeria.
Can You Grow Cannabis in Nigeria?
It’s illegal to cultivate cannabis in Nigeria, although the plant grows widely throughout the country as a favored crop of farmers. Per the law, those found guilty of producing cannabis receive severe punishments ranging from at least 21 years in prison up to the death penalty.
The Role of Pharmacists
Pharmacists in African nations need to know the legal structure surrounding medical marijuana for them to serve their patients better at the heart of health promotion without contravening the law. Arguments continue to arise on the need for removal of cannabis from schedule I of the controlled substances act. The most tightly restricted category reserved for drugs with ‘no currently accepted medicinal use’. The current scheduling of cannabis is as strict as that of heroin.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently proposed the rescheduling of cannabis within international laws, considering the past and present evidence for medical application of cannabis hereby reversing its position as to restrict the use of the drug in legitimate medical practices. This proposition in some developed countries has received warm reception. However, African countries can only foster the adoption of WHO’s reschedule proposition by increasing the participation of medical practitioners and legal drug experts i.e., pharmacists in the law making and amendment process.
Marijuana is prohibited under federal law in many countries, and health authorities has no role in the production, prescription, dispensing, labeling, or purity assessment of the final product. This implies that patient can only purchase or possess marijuana from unauthorized sources, which raises additional concern about the product’s safety and possibility of pervasive abuse. With increasing media awareness on the potential benefits of cannabis in pharmacotherapy, it is only a matter of time before patients start seeking illegal means to access and use cannabis for their medical concerns. Increasing awareness will in the long run increase threat posed by cannabis use to public health in Africa. Cases of adverse effect, abuse potential will increase with increasing number of patients missing out on proper counselling and advice from a healthcare professional.
Pharmacists in the African countries need to be aware of the increasing trend towards growing public recognition of medical cannabis as a pharmacotherapy option. Pharmacists can engage the patient in thorough medical and social histories and inquire about the use of illicit drug, including medical/recreational use of marijuana. Pharmacists should take up the active role to provide adequate unbiased information on the benefits and risks of cannabis use. This is important because the health-seeking behavior of many patients make for self-medication and the possibilities of coming across the information on potential roles of medicinal cannabis in their ailment and this can facilitate abuse. Pharmacists need to have a broad knowledge of the risks and benefits of medical marijuana and take the active role in health promotion and enlightenment of the general public.
Pharmacists as custodians of medications with roles in medication regulation, dispensing, counseling, health promotion, identifying possible pharmacotherapy interactions, pharmacovigilance, research and seeking for more evidence that will warrant the accessibility and availability of medical cannabis to those who genuinely needs it cannot be overemphasized. Like hospital pharmacists, community pharmacists have roles in medication regulation, dispensing, counseling, health promotion, identifying possible drug interactions, pharmacovigilance, and research towards its ultimate successful and safe use. Safeguarding the quality, safety, and efficacy of marijuana in public and private spaces can be achieved by regulatory pharmacy bodies.
From review of curriculum in pharmacy schools to inclusive research on emerging prospects of cannabis in pharmacotherapy is essential. Research is also important to better aid the understanding of how integrating medicinal cannabis can be more useful to the healthcare systems and the overall need of the patients. The research interest of drug policy researchers in African countries need to shift in order to bridge the knowledge gaps in the opportunities, benefits and risks associated with medicinal cannabis. Cannabis plant is indigenous to many African countries and it is interesting to note that vast majority of research in this field are not carried out by researchers in Africa. This is to be seen as an opportunity for pharmacists in academia to venture into this field because there are still many unanswered questions on cannabis use and the knowledge gaps need to be bridged. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge on the perception, attitude and beliefs of healthcare professionals including pharmacists on the use of medical cannabis in Africa.
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