The Deputy Regional Commander of the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), Rees Hakeem Oduro says Ghana does not legally have medicinal use for marijuana.

According to him, despite the fact that other jurisdictions through research have come up with how to use the drug for medicinal purposes, Ghana at the moment does have any medicinal use for the drug.

"Yes, in other jurisdictions, it is there, it is widely known, research has indicated but as we speak sit in Ghana here, there's no medicinal use for cannabis or marijuana - that is legally, but when you go to other jurisdictions, there is," he said on JoyNews' AM Show on Thursday.

Mr Oduro, however, indicated that some drugs which have been legalized for medicinal purposes are rather being abused by a section of the public.

Citing an example, he indicated that a drug like tramadol is being produced illegally by some people and that the quantum needed for producing medicines is not being adhered to.

He noted that energy drinks and syrups are products in which the use of tramadol becomes excessive.

Meanwhile, it has been disclosed through research on rehabilitation centres that 47% of females abuse drugs.
This includes females between the ages of 15 and 65, according to
the Acting Director of Public Affairs and International Relations of NACOC, Francis Opoku Amoah

He was speaking during the commemoration of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking on June 26, under the theme, "People First: Stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention."

“Previously, when we talk about drug abuse, you will think about men but now figures from the rehabilitation centres we visited revealed that 53% of males between the ages of 15-65 are engaging in drug abuse while the remaining 47% are female. But so far, males are still dominating drug abuse in the country,” he said.

He has, therefore, called for accelerated efforts in educating the public on the harmful implications of the act and also called on the government to facilitate the building of more rehabilitation centres to accommodate the already existing numbers of people on rehabilitation programmes.