NDLEA Explains Why Cannabis Use In US, UK, Others Differs From Nigeria

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has defended why marijuana use is criminalised in Nigeria as opposed in other countries as the UK, US and Canada.

NDLEA Secretary, Shadrack Haruna stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

He said there was “a lot of misconception” about decriminalising the use of drugs.

“You travel to Canada, you travel anywhere, and you say, ‘They’ve decriminalised marijuana or cannabis and we’re using it,’” he said.

“But of course, you have different species of marijuana and in those countries, they have very good policies; very good enforcement and measurement standards which they have to follow.”

Haruna explained that there are different species of cannabis grown worldwide.

“The species they have, which they say they have decriminalised in some of those countries, are those without Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the active ingredient that makes one to be something else,” he said.

“We have cannabis that is far, far more potent, almost 45 percent, 100 percent Tetrahydrocannabinol. We can’t compare it to what they’re saying they have decriminalised.”

He explained that in those countries, enforcement is strict, and argued that not so many countries, including the US, have “actually said we have decriminalised some of these drugs. None, including the UK”.

The UK, the NDLEA secretary noted, used to allow the importation of cannabinol, which he said is used for some kinds of medical treatment.

“But of late, they have also restricted it because they’ve noticed the increasing content of cannabinol in that particular oil,” he said.

Haruna said while some argue for its commercialisation in Nigeria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised that the harmful impact of cannabis outweighs its benefits.

“Some people are saying, ‘We make a lot of money from it.’ But it is not money we are looking for. We are looking for the health of the nation. We’re looking for the well-being of individuals,” he said.

“But they are talking about the commercialisation of drugs and all those things. To me, it is a misconception, which of course the media should come out against it because we know that it’s something that is wrong for this country.”

In other news, Kanyi Daily reported that the police in Zambia have arrested the son and daughter-in-law of the former Zambian President, Edgar Lungu on suspicion of money laundering and in possession of items thought to be the proceeds of crime totaling more than $5 million.