Nigerian Lawmakers Clash Over Fresh Bill To Legalize Marijuana

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Nigerian lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Wednesday clashed over a fresh bill seeking to legalize the cultivation, sale and use of cannabis sativa, popularly known as marijuana in the country.

It was reported that two members of the House including the spokesperson for the House, Benjamin Kalu and Olumide Osoba, had sponsored a fresh bill seeking to amend the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, to allow the anti-narcotics agency to issue licences to Nigerians for the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana.

The lawmakers titled the bill ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Confer Additional Responsibility of the Power to Grant and Revoke Licenses for the Cultivation of Cannabis (or Any of Its Three Species, Namely Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indicia and Cannabis Ruderalis) Plant for Medicinal Purposes; and for Related Matters.’

It was gathered that the bill is a consolidated version of Kalu and Osoba’s separate bills numbered HBs. 1190 & 1918.

The clash ensued on Wednesday when the bill was brought up for second reading at the plenary and another member of the House, Miriam Onuoha, protested that the content of the bill was the same as hers, which she sponsored long ago.

But the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, asked Onuoha, Kalu and Osoba to liaise with the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Abubakar Fulata, to identify the differences and similarities between the bills ahead of sitting on Thursday.

Recall that cultivation, sale and use of Marijuana are currently outlawed in the country.

However, the House in 2020 proposed the legalisation of cultivation and trading in cannabis for medical and cosmetic use, research purposes as well as revenue generation for Nigeria.

The Cannabis Control Bill, 2020, titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Regulate the Cultivation, Possession, Availability and Trade of Cannabis for Medical and Research Use, and Related Purposes’ was sponsored by Onuoha.

Onuoha in the bill said, “Relevant agencies will be empowered to regulate the growth and use of cannabis; register cannabis growers and users; issue licences to cannabis growers, processors producers, manufacturers and users; and develop awareness programmes on the growth and use of cannabis.”

Meanwhile, if the bill is passed into law, hospitals and doctors will be allowed to prescribe doses of cannabis for the treatment of patients, while pharmacies and stores will be allowed to sell it.

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