Officials in Nigeria discuss resistance to cannabis legalization

Officials from the West African country of Nigeria discussed their thoughts on opposing the legalization of cannabis on Monday.

Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano state in northern Nigeria and chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, spoke about her opposition to cannabis legalization. Marwa and other officials were in Kano on a “advocacy visit” for the Drug Abuse (WADA) fight.

During the discussion, Chairman Marwa stated that the NDLEA had made significant strides in reducing illicit drug possession across the country.

“With over 8,634 arrests; 2,776,000 kilograms of drugs worth over N 100 billion confiscated; 1,630 convictions; 3,232 court cases and over 4,000 drug users counseled and rehabilitated between January and now are already making significant strides in our efforts to reduce drug supply and demand, ”Marwa said, according to NDLEA spokeswoman Femi Babafemi.

Marwa went on to say that he believed that legalizing cannabis would only set Nigeria back. “We believe, however, that the continued attempts by some of our elected officials to legalize cannabis used by over 10.6 million Nigerians will detract from what has been achieved so far. For this reason I would like to plead with Your Excellency and the State of Kano not to support the attempt to legalize cannabis. “

In response, Kano Governor Ganduje, Marwa assured that no political figures in Kano would support the legalization. “Kano has most of the federal legislators in the National Assembly. I want to assure you that none of them support any attempt to legalize cannabis. We will also grant your requests for land and housing for a zone command in the state, ”he said.

Resistance to cannabis in Nigeria has roots

This isn’t the first time Marwa explains why he believes cannabis shouldn’t be legalized. A video from Channels Television shows Marwa speaking on the subject for 30 minutes in June, sharing facts about drugs and drug trafficking in the country. He notes that this has influenced the rise in crime, destroyed families and made the remarkable strides the NDLEA made in preventing illicit drug trafficking this year.

Also in May, a press release was published on NDLEA NIGERIA’s Twitter account, in which it says: “Marwa warns against attempting to legalize cannabis. It will make Nigeria a nation of junkies. “

In the press release, Marwa notes that substance abuse and crime are intrinsically linked and that “drug use for perverse purposes” has long been present in Nigeria.

“So aside from speculation and armchair theories, there is ample evidence from reporting statistics and real-world empirical data to conclude that the illegal substance lawsuit is contributing to the worsening security situation in Nigeria. And it is, Nigeria should be the last country to consider a law to legalize marijuana in any form, ”he shared.

Kano is just one of 36 states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is home to around 150 million people, according to the Nigerian government website. Nigeria is the eighth largest cannabis consumer in the world, according to The Guardian. The Nigerian state of Ondo is home to one of the largest cannabis farms in the country, which is also said to be the second largest in the world.

Ondo state governor Rotimi Akeredolu has a very different opinion on cannabis than Marwa or Ganduje. “Tell Nigerians that the world market was estimated at $ 52.8 billion in 2019 and that the market forecast is an average increase of 14.5 percent from 2020 to $ 103.9 billion by 2024,” he said, according to Nigerian Tribute .

Akeredolu continued, “We have one of the best cannabis strains in the world in the state of Ondo. We need to do more research on this. We must protect our forests from further pillage by cannabis growers. The phenomenon of climate change is a reality with devastating effects on our ecology or environment. This approach will reduce the availability of cannabis in the underworld market as breeders want to sell in a more financially rewarding market. “