AS the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is commemorated globally, the International Society of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Professionals (ISSUP Nigeria Chapter) has opposed calls for the legalisation of cannabis in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the national President, Dr. Martin Agwogie in a statement to mark the day.
Justifying ISSUP position, Dr. Agwogie noted that Nigeria has a record of about 3 times global prevalence of drugs or substance use. For example, “Nigeria is about 3% of the world’s population, but account for 6% of the world population of cannabis users and 14% of the world’s population who misuses pharmaceutical opioids, making it one of the countries in the world with the highest number of people who misuse tramadol and cough syrups containing codeine or dextromethorphan”. With these, he concluded, “Nigeria is in drug crisis that legalisation of cannabis should not be contemplated now”.
On the medicinal and economic values of cannabis plant, the ISSUP president noted, “yes, there are medicinal and economic values that can be extracted from the cannabis plant, but these are not without alternatives”. Moreover, the economic benefits should not overshadow the health and social consequences.
Agwogie, however urge the federal government to be opened to discussions on cannabis issues, endeavour to make all psychoactive substances, including cannabis plant, available for scientific purposes and continue with the drug use decriminalisation process.
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