The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has denied accrediting or certifying any individual, group, or association to facilitate, broker, or secure the acquisition or issuance of cannabis licences.
A statement containing the denial “cautions all prospective applicants not to pay money to anyone purporting to act as an agent, intermediary, or consultant for cannabis licensing. All licensing processes will be conducted only by the Commission, not through third parties.”
Official fees and charges applicable to the licensing process, NACOC stated, “will be published by the Commission upon approval by Parliament.”
The public has therefore been advised to exercise patience and allow Parliament to complete its work on the procedures for acquiring a cannabis licence and to pass the relevant bill.
“For public information, Section 43 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019), as amended by the Narcotics Control Commission (Amendment) Act, 2023 (Act 1100), empowers the Minister for the Interior to grant licences to cultivate cannabis with a THC content not exceeding 0.3% on a dry weight basis, for industrial purposes (fibre or seed) or for medicinal purposes. It does not authorise recreational use,” the NACOC stated.
NACOC, in accordance with the Narcotics Control Commission (Cultivation and Management of Cannabis) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2475) has instituted the necessary policies and measures to ensure a transparent, fair, and robust cannabis regulatory regime for the benefit of all Ghanaians, the statement went on, adding however that “until the framework is finalised and licences are duly issued, the possession, use, cultivation, sale, and trafficking of cannabis and other narcotic drugs remain prohibited by law, except as expressly permitted under Act 1019.”