Be bold! Let's legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes

There is a radical change in the way people perceive marijuana on a global scale. Marijuana, especially in medicinal form, is gaining popularity and eliminating its former negative stigma. The change was prompted by the extensive empirical research that says marijuana has tremendous medicinal benefits. According to a report by Grand View Research Inc., the race governments are taking to secure market share of the estimated $ 146.4 billion in the legal marijuana market by 2025 has taken In recent years. Governments have been proactive in tackling this new wave by adopting a licensing system for marijuana production for medicinal purposes only. The licensing policy for the commercial production of marijuana – for medicinal purposes – is expected to generate and stimulate revenue growth for economic development, while instituting a control system to control abuse.

Some governments in Africa – Lesotho and Zimbabwe – have endorsed the wave of change in favor of accepting marijuana as a plant of economic value.

As a result of the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in 2018, Zimbabwe has received requests from about 200 investors / companies interested in growing the crop, said Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture , water, climate and rural resettlement. Of the 200 companies, the government has allowed 37 investors to produce marijuana for medical purposes. The estimated revenue of the government is $ 1.7 million – a license cost Zimbabwe $ 46,000. And this is just the first batch of licenses since the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.

In Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, lawmakers are actively seeking to attract investors to the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry for their country. Access Marijuana Canada Inc., a consortium of Canadian-American investors, reportedly engaged in extensive negotiations with its local counterparts to conclude a commercial agreement in the cultivation and production of marijuana oil and medical purposes. In addition to the medicinal benefits to be gained, legal medicinal marijuana will consolidate $ 376.284 billion of Nigerian GDP, generate substantial employment for Nigerian youth and provide the necessary currency to support the naira. The country should also benefit from a positive externality of the legal medicinal cannabis industry through the intensification of scientific research in the field.

In Lesotho, a mountainous region, the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes has enabled the country's high-quality marijuana to become a star as a barrage of investors who have moved to the country to seize their share of the opportunity investment. The South African marijuana company Verve Dynamics and Lesotho-based Medi Kingdom have already been licensed to produce marijuana for medicinal purposes.

After the historic decision on the use of marijuana, South Africa has taken a step further to grab its hold on the marijuana sector. In 2018, the country opened the first medical marijuana center in Africa: the Holistic Relief Health Center and the Durban Pain Treatment Center. The Center offers its patients quality medicinal marijuana products. This has improved the safe use of the plant while generating tax revenue for the government. Given the approved health benefits of marijuana products, the country will benefit in the near future from foreigners seeking treatment.

Marijuana for medical purposes is already legal in most parts of the world. In the past decade, a wave of medical marijuana legalization has been proclaimed in advanced economies – Canada, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Norway. These countries have not only understood the medicinal benefits of the plant, but are preparing to exploit the enormous economic benefits it offers.

Germany, the largest national economy in the European Union, is also becoming one of the world's largest federal markets for medical and legal marijuana. The insurance sector in Germany benefits from legal medicinal marijuana. In 2018 alone, the mandatory health insurance providers reported income of about 70 million euros for products containing marijuana. The country's pharmacies processed 185,370 prescriptions under the compulsory insurance program, which covers about 90% of the population. This project will increase the future demand for marijuana products for medical purposes.

Barely three (3) years after marijuana was legalized for drugs in Australia, market demand exceeded 15,000 approved patient claims by the end of 2018. Based on industry data, approved applications would allow to obtain revenues of about A $ 36 million (US $ 25 million). A market report from Prohibition Partners (a market information company) suggests that the Australian market for medicinal marijuana, currently valued at $ 17.7 million a year, could rise to $ 1.2 billion dollars by 2024.

The advanced economies have understood the importance of the marijuana plant. As always, they took the initiative to position themselves to capture a larger share of the potential revenue of the marijuana industry. The rest of the world, especially Africa, is watching. And Ghana is no exception.

For years, the government of Ghana has turned a blind eye to legalizing the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes. It has barely been discussed in parliament. The resistance and hesitation of successive governments are not strange, given the negative stereotype about marijuana in the country. The opinion of the majority of Ghanaians about marijuana use is traditional and past. However, times have changed, marijuana – green gold – is now an economic resource. And it's here to stay.

It is time for Ghana to be bold. Take the difficult decision of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes before arriving late for the party. Our lawmakers have precedents from other countries that have drafted legislation that will regulate the production, distribution, use, and regulation of marijuana for medicinal purposes. With a state-supported licensing system for the commercial production of marijuana for medical purposes, the evils of marijuana production and use will be minimized to a minimum, revenues will be generated to help fund our chronic budget deficit.

More importantly, the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes will reduce black market revenues and transactions. Keeping marijuana totally illegal puts consumers in need for medical purposes at the risk of being exposed to a harmful "weed" and also leaves millions of cedis with potential tax revenues.

By Felix Ankrah and Isaac Bortey
[email protected]This article was written by Ho Node's research staff. Ho Node is an innovation hub offering digital skills training, business start-up support, research and advocacy on emerging policy issues.