House Of Reps Propose Legalizing Marijuana Cultivation, Registration Of Traders In Nigeria

Miriam Onuoha

Lawmakers in the country are proposing the legalisation of cultivation and trading of marijuana for medical and research purposes  to generate revenue for the country.

This is being proposed in the Cannabis Control Bill 2020, sponsored by Miriam Onuoha, which is awaiting second reading. The legislation is titled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Regulate the Cultivation, Possession, Availability and Trade of Cannabis for Medical and Research Use, and Related Purposes.’

The proposed law, however, sets conditions for the cultivation, buying, selling and consumption of the drug. Onuoha said objectives of the bill, among others, include providing for the “regulation of the cultivation, possession, processing, availability and trade of cannabis for medicinal and researching purposes.”

“A person who grows, produces or sells cannabis not for medical purpose and does not present the particulars required for registration under Section 12(1) commits an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to imprisonment for two years or a fine not exceeding N1,000,000 or both.

A licensed seller who sells more than the prescribed dose to a buyer would risk imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine not less than N500,000 or both, while a buyer who smokes or ingests cannabis on the contrary, might be jailed for two years or fined not less than N500,000 or both,” the bill partly read.