Legalise wee, after all we are all hypocrites - AUCC lecturer

A lecturer at the Communications Department of the African University College of Communication (AUCC), Charles Prempeh, is calling on government to legalise the use of marijuana popularly called “wee” in the country.

He claims several well-respected individuals in Ghana are already abusing marijuana secretly in their hide-outs or homes, and it is time they are allowed to do it openly.

“Well individuals in our societies are using it, so why shouldn’t we legalize it for all? Are we deceiving ourselves?” he quizzed.

According to Mr. Prempeh, research he has conducted shows marijuana is a good herbal substance used by medical experts and spiritualists to prepare drugs and other chemicals for healing purposes.

He expressed concern that though countries like Holland, Switzerland, Uruguay Argentina, Mexico and some parts of the United States have within the last decade adopted some form of decriminalization in the use of marijuana, it is still illegal to produce, distribute, consume and advertise or promote it in Ghana.

Mr. Prempeh is convinced the legalization of marijuana in some parts of the world is enough reason for Ghana to do same. “Let’s behave like Africans and stop being hypocrites,” he charged.

His call comes on the back of claims by Chief Psychiatrist at the Ghana Health Service Dr. Akwasi Osei that 30 per cent of out-patient visits to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital each year were marijuana-related.

He told newsmen about 10 per cent of admission cases at the hospital are also marijuana related.

But the Africana Studies lecturer believes these findings are bogus and not a true reflection of what is happening on the grounds.

He said: “The issue of ‘madness’ is something got to do with genetics and blood related issues. Not as doctors are claiming that the whole substance is bad and leads to madness.”

Early this year, the Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board, Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, called for a national debate on the use marijuana in this country. The Rastafarian Council of Ghana later issued a statement supporting Akrasi Sarpong’s call, adding that such a debate was long overdue. It even suggested that a national referendum on the matter must follow the debate.

The recent arrest of Ghana’s controversial hip life artiste, Kwaw Kese, in Kumasi, for allegedly smoking cannabis in public has re-ignited the debate on the issue.

Mr. Prempeh believes the arrest is an indication of hypocrisy at the highest level on the part of the security agencies because the law enforcers are all guilty when it comes to the use of cannabis.