Bill to legalise Cannabis suffers setback in Nigeria’s parliament

A bill seeking to legalize cannabis in Nigeria has suffered setbacks in the House of Representatives.

The joint bill, sponsored by Miriam Onuoha (APC, Imo), Benjamin Kalu (APC, Abia) and Olumide Osoba (APC, Ogun) seeks to amend National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) An Act to permit the cultivation of marijuana for recreational and medicinal use.

The bill also seeks to empower the NDLEA to grant and revoke licenses for the cultivation of cannabis (or any of the three species of Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indicia and Cannabis Ruderalis) Plant.

Furthermore, the bill proposes that the NDLEA will have the power to establish a system of registration and licensing of cannabis growers and users and also set a legal framework for the registration and licensing of cannabis growers and producers in Nigeria.

Leading the debate on the bill, Mr. Kalu said Nigeria has the opportunity to join Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia and Cyprus that have legalized cannabis for use in the management of cancer patients.

He added that the bill would not create additional costs as the NDLEA already exists.

“The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is an existing agency of the Government of the Federation and the implementation of this bill, if passed into law, will not bring additional costs to the Government. In addition, the expected benefits from the implementation of this bill, if passed, are enormous ,” he said.

Speaking on the motion, Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta), said the country cannot legalize narcotic drugs at a time when they are dealing with others.

“Crystal meth is destroying the Southeast and now we want to add more drugs,” Mr. Ossai told his colleagues.

He added that there is no major research that supports claims that cannabis has any benefits for humans.

Mr Ossai’s position was contradicted by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, who said experts were in the best position to give their verdict during the public hearing on the bill.

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“When the bill reaches public scrutiny, expert witnesses can be brought in,” said Mr Gbajabiamila.

Other members of parliament like the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), Uzoma Abonta (PDP, Abia), and Muhammed Monguno (APC, Borno) opposed the bill.

Exercising the right of reply, co-sponsor of the bill, Ms Onuoha said the lawmakers did not know the difference between species of cannabis. He explained that not all marijuana is psychotic.

He said he understood the House’s mood and concerns about curbing marijuana abuse. He then moved down the bill for the benefit of the House until the appropriate time.

The bill, therefore, withdrew with the permission of the DPR.