The House of Representatives has decided not to legalise the production and use of marijuana in Nigeria.
Chairman of the House Committee on Narcotics Francis Agbo made the announcement when Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Buba Marwa appeared before the committee to discuss the agency’s 2022 budget.
“We are not supporting the so-called legitimisation of cannabis. This committee is not fronting for that bill, is not proposing that bill because we know very clearly that Nigeria is a heavy user of cannabis,” Mr Agbo said.
“So if there is so much madness, killings and so on in the country now, if we legitimise cannabis, the madness would quadruple.”
Mr Marwa has asked for more support for his agency, citing that the Federal Ministry of Finance has not made provision for the salaries of 5,000 recruits in the 2022 proposed budget.
Back in June, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu proposed the legalisation of cannabis cultivation in the country for medicinal purposes.
“We must find a way to legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. There is nothing wrong about it. We are only shooting ourselves in the foot. It is a foreign exchange earner for people outside the country. People want this,” Governor Akeredolu said.
Cannabis is illegal in Nigeria. However, the country is a major source of West African-grown cannabis and ranked the world’s eighth highest consumer of cannabis.
