It is preposterous to hear anyone still arguing for the legalisation of the use of cannabis or its cultivation in Nigeria, given that the countries they usually cite as examples are currently grappling with the consequences of their experimentation with the liberal use of drugs. Some of these countries are presently contemplating reversing the trend and reverting to status quo ante.
Those advocating for the legalisation of cannabis in our country are either doing so out of ignorance and probably oblivious to the global trend on drug policies or are purposely blind to the red flags because of their vested interests in the economic gains of widespread use and cultivation of cannabis.
The usual argument is about the economy and medicinal use. They talk about how big the global cannabis market is, how we are missing out and how Nigeria could supplement its economy by becoming a big player in that industry.
In their argument, they equate cannabis to a wonderful plant that does no one any harm. And they make its cultivation seem like a simple process that will not have any ramifications for local consumption.
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Their arguments fall flat in the face of the Nigerian drug situation, which came to light in 2019 after the conduct of the UNODC- assisted National Drug Use Survey.
The findings showed that Nigeria is already the country with the largest population of cannabis users, about 10.6 million. Worse still, the use of cannabis in Nigeria is largely for recreational purposes, not medicinal.
Promoters of liberalisation of drug use usually cite countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, among others.
But they fail to acknowledge that the decriminalisation of the use of any illicit drug, any drug at all, has proven to have boomerang effects.
A case in point is the report published on July 11, 2024, in the New York Times, titled “Bold Experiment or Safety Risk? Canada Is Divided on How to Stop Drug Deaths.”
The report by Vjosa Isai covered Vancouver and Victoria, in the British Columbia region of Canada. The summary of the report is British Columbia’s decision to partially retreat from its experiment to decriminalise drug possession as a solution to the opioid crisis.
In just two years, the situation worsened and has put authorities in the region in reverse. Earlier in May, Canada’s federal government approved the request to reverse the policy and again make public drug use and possession in British Columbia a crime.
In the United States, where a similar experiment had taken place in Oregon, the state legislature had voted in April to recriminalise drugs amid soaring overdose deaths.
Cities and countries around the world are coming to the hard truth that abstinence is the only way to curb the consequences of drug use.
Now, concerning cannabis, the usual argument is that its derivatives are harmless. Who says? Research upon research shows that cannabis has negative effects on users’ health.
The promoters of cannabis are usually silent on this.
The most recent research, published on August 1, 2024, in the JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, indicated a link between long-term daily use of marijuana and cancers of the head and neck.
The findings of the research conducted at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles show that people who use cannabis, particularly those with a cannabis use disorder, are significantly more likely to develop head and neck cancers compared to those who do not use cannabis.
They are at greater risk of developing oropharyngeal cancer, which is cancer of the soft palate, tonsil and back of the throat.
The study, which found a strong link between various cannabinoids (biological compounds in cannabis plants) and tumour growth, sounded an alarm that the world may see a corresponding rise in head and neck cancer cases with the widespread legalisation of marijuana.
This is coming three years after a study conducted in Denmark and published in JAMA Psychiatry on July 21, 2021, showed that there is a link between schizophrenia, a mental health disorder, and cannabis addiction.
Nigeria should tread on the path of caution. Let’s not open the Pandora box. As a country, we don’t have a strong health institution nor the economic capability to bear the burden of the public health ramifications of the use of cannabis.
Nobody will come to harm if cannabis is banned, after all, it is not a basic need.
Adekunbi Lawal wrote from Abuja
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