Cannabis [Wee] law in Ghana – Supreme Court dismisses review application
The court determined that the review application submitted by the Attorney-General (A-G) did not meet the requirements for review as specified by the Supreme Court rules in a 5-4 majority ruling on Wednesday (May 24, 2023).
Judgment
The Supreme Court declared Section 43 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020 (Act 1019) illegal in July of last year.
According to Section 43 of Act 1019, the Minister of the Interior may, on the advice of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), award a company a license to cultivate cannabis with a Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level of not more than 0.3 for both industrial and medical uses.
The court ruled that the bill was unconstitutional because, as required by Article 106(5)(6) of the 1992 Constitution, no debate on it occurred in Parliament before it was passed into law.
The supreme court was once more of the considered opinion that the explanatory note attached to the measure submitted to Parliament did not detail the policy shift, the flaws in the present law, and the requirement to adopt a statute to authorize cannabis growing.
It concluded that such an omission violated Article 106 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
Table of Contents
About Author
