When it was announced last week that Parliament had passed the Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019, Ghanaian patrons and non-patrons alike of ‘Cannabis’ were in jubilation.

Celebrities including Samini, Edem, and Yaa Pono who had fought vehemently for years for the bill to be passed could not hide their excitement.

While the bill only states that Cannabis has been decriminalized for Medicinal and Industrial purposes, some youth who are into the use of the substance seem not to fully understand the implications of the Bill.

Samini has however taken it upon himself to educate them on what the passage of the bill really means.

“The #Hemp has been legalized for health and industrial purposes.Pls if you are not into the health and industrial benefits of the #hemp then you are not part of this exercise and Will be a criminal if caught in possession or using #staywoke. It’s not legal to smoke it yet pls,” he wrote in a Twitter post.

The #Hemp has been legalized for health and industrial purposes.Pls if you are not into the health and industrial benefits of the #hemp then you are not part of this exercise and Will be a criminal if caught in possession or using #staywoke.
It’s not legal to smoke it yet pls 👨🏾‍🌾

— SAMINI (@samini_dagaati) March 22, 2020

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Parliament passed the Narcotics Control Commission Bill, 2019 on Friday evening.

The law also makes the country’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) a Commission with enhanced powers to oversee the industrial use of some narcotic substances.

The Commission, however, will have the mandate to control and eliminate the trafficking of prohibited narcotic drugs to ensure public safety.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 147 million people, or 2.5 percent of the world population, consume cannabis including smoking, vaping, sprays, tinctures, and even oil infusion.

On the African continent, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Lesotho, and South Africa are among counties that have decriminalised medicinal cannabis use.