Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 turned into a Prophet while delivering his submissions on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show.
The seasoned Journalist, commenting on the anti-homosexual bill before Parliament, took a quick dive into matters regarding the criminal prosecution of marijuana users in the country.
The conversation which was stoked by host of 'Kokrokoo', Kwami Sefa Kayi, who admonished the lawmakers to take a serious look into the law that prohibits marijuana, nearly turned into a sermon with Mr. Pratt siding with him.
In a brief comment, Kwesi Pratt warned it may not augur well for Ghana in the offing if the lawmakers don't reconsider the laws on marijuana.
"It won't be long and we will use the foreign exchange of Ghana to import wee into this country. During that time, it will be too late for our stupidity," he prophesied.
Cannabis remain ilegal in Ghana and any person caught in possession of marijuana faces a jail term from five to 10 years.
But there are incessant calls on the Government of Ghana to review the laws and commercialize marijuana.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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To those experts and proponents who are celebrating this "momentous" occasion: have you considered the risks and dangers that future generations of Ghanaians could face? The excuses being given are: oh well it will earn Ghana millions of dollars in foreign exchange and create jobs. These are anything but specious. What next, are we going to wake up one day to find out that cultivation of coca (the plant from which cocaine is made has been legalized in Ghana because it would earn the country billions of dollars? Points to note: Did you know that before it "earned a bad name" from MISUSE by criminal cartels in South America and the US, products of the coca plant were used for MEDICINAL AND RELIGIOUS purposes? Be not deceived: although cocaine use is a huge problem in the US, Europe and other parts of the world, South American countries from where it is produced also have serious addiction problems. 2). Afghanistan a major producer of opium is currently struggling with a heroin addiction scourge. Historically, Afghanistan has a long tradition of consuming opium: local men smoked opium, whereas women ate it. It was not until the 1960s that production increased thanks to external demand. All this fancy talk about cultivation of "an approved variety of cannabis for cultivation" is deliberately fuzzy. Unless the bill has been approved with a particular clientele in mind (I am referring to entities which have access to hi-tech processes like controlling the planting medium, temperature, water and nutrient intake etc. of the cannabis), it would be extremely difficult for the so-called medicinal/industrial cannabis to acquire a "unique" look. Anybody with experience in crop cultivation in Ghana will know that soil composition on a fairly large plot of land is not uniform, thus rate of growth, crop size and coloration etc. will vary for the ordinary farmer. What will prevent other-minded Ghanaians from inter-cropping the "approved" cannabis with other varieties? Wait till the uptake of cannabis for recreational use and eventual addiction becomes a national menace for "special measures to be taken". Whither goest thou, O Ghana?
Now I could see the end of Uncle Kwesi Pratt, he used to be one of the best journalist in the country and now because of politics all that he says cannot hold a common water. How on earth will the nation use foreign currency to import something classified as illegality into the country?. The argument that the marijuana has medicinal properties is neither here nor there. Can someone convince me, marijuana has medicinal properties than our vegetables such as onion, pepper, tomatoes, cabbage, garden eggs etc. As at now market women go all the way to Burkina Faso to buy tomatoes to add to the one we produce in the country which is not enough. The same acre of land that we will use to grow marijuana which has destroyed many youths, use it to grow these vegetables and we will be better off than entertaining the cultivation of wee (hemp). We as a country do not have the personnel to monitor and the uses of the marijuana.