Group urges caution in legalising cannabis business

A non-government organisation, Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry, (CADAM) has urged governments at all levels to be cautious in tapping into the economic opportunities inherent in the multi-billion-dollar cannabis business.

In a statement, the Director-General, CADAM, Dr. Dokun Adedeji, said: “We are again stating publicly that we are against any surreptitious moves to ‘legalise’ the growth, production and consequent use of cannabis without any template to counter its consequences.”

The group noted that the global cannabis market offered about $32bn dollars potential according to the Arcview Market research.

It said the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) established in 1989 was set up to eliminating the growing, processing, manufacturing, selling, exporting and trafficking of hard drugs of which cannabis is a significant component. “That law has not been amended to the best of our knowledge,” CADAM stated.

The group said it is worried about the increasing involvement of teenagers and youths in the use of dangerous and sometimes prescriptive drugs, with the attendant consequences of destructive practices among them and the general population.