UN Urges Nigeria To Legalise Cannabis (Weed)
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday urged the Nigerian government to legalise the consumption of cannabis popularly known as ‘weed’ or ‘Igbo’ in the country.
The development was disclosed by the Project Officer of the UNODC, Harsheth Kaur Virk, in her presentation at a one-day public hearing on the need to checkmate the rising danger of pharmaceutical drugs abuse among youth in Nigeria.
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The event, organised by the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Health, revealed UN’s approval on cannabis as a “miracle drug” allowed for medical purposes but not for recreational purposes.
Virk in her statement said “Nigeria as a sovereign Nation has its stringent laws against it but international conventions of the UN have approved it for medical purposes based on the outcome of researches conducted to that effect by globally recognized institutes.
“UNODC encourages decriminalisation of drug users and criminalisation of drug traffickers. A lot of people use it because of biological and behavioural issues.
She advised the Federal Government to change its strategy in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking in the country.
