Cannabis [Wee] law in Ghana - Supreme Court dismisses review application 

The Supreme Court has dismissed a review application challenging its decision to struck out a law that allowed the cultivation of cannabis [wee] for medicinal and industrial purposes.

In a 5-4 majority decision Wednesday [May 24, 2023], the court held that the review application filed by the Attorney-General (A-G) did not satisfy the criteria for review as set out by the Supreme Court rules.

• Related:
• Supreme Court on why it struck out licence to grow cannabis (wee)
• Parliament, Supreme Court wrangle over ‘wee’ law
• Law on licence to grow cannabis in Ghana unconstitutional - Supreme Court declares

Judgment

In July last year, the apex court struck out as unconstitutional Section 43 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020 (Act 1019).

Section 43 of Act 1019 allows the Minister of the Interior, upon the recommendation of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), to grant an entity the licence to cultivate cannabis of not more than 0.3 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content for industrial and medicinal purposes.

The court held that the law was unconstitutional because there was no debate in Parliament on it before its passage into law, as stipulated by Article 106 (5) (6) of the 1992 Constitution.

Again, the apex court was of the considered opinion that the explanatory memorandum attached to the bill placed before Parliament did not set out in details the policy change, the defects in the existing law and the necessity to introduce a law to license the cultivation of cannabis.

Such an omission, it held, was a violation of Article 106 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.