The Chamber of Cannabis Industry has appealed to the Government to fast-track the development of Ghana’s cannabis industry to create jobs and cushion the economy.
Describing cannabis as the “golden ticket” to the country’s economic transformation, the Chamber said it was the “perfect replacement” for Ghana’s declining cocoa industry to yield foreign exchange to support the economy.
Cannabis, popularly known as marijuana, is a herbal medication made from plants in the Cannabis species used to treat a variety of symptoms and diseases, including cancer, chronic pain, and mental disorders.
In a policy paper authored by Dr Mark Darko, the Chief Executive Officer, Chamber of Cannabis Industry, the Chamber urged the Government to expedite regulations and licensing frameworks to attract investors into research and development to maximise cannabis-based innovations.
Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa, saw its 2024 export earnings plummet to $1.7 billion—the lowest in 15 years.
Latest figures released by the Bank of Ghana indicate that Ghana’s cocoa export earnings fell below the two-billion- dollars mark, representing a sharp 25.4 per cent decline in just a year.
The decline was largely attributed to dwindling production, which reduced by over 11 per cent within the same period.
The Chamber said unlike cocoa, where Ghana exported raw beans and bought back expensive processed chocolate, cannabis allowed full-scale industrialisation within Ghana.
The establishment of cannabis processing facilities would create value-added products and boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product, it said.
“Unlike cocoa, which suffers from price fluctuations dictated by foreign buyers, cannabis offers premium pricing and diverse product streams for both local and international markets,” the Chamber said.
“The global cannabis industry is expected to surpass $100 billion in the next decade, offering Ghana a lucrative export market.”
It noted that Ghana had one the best climates in the world to cultivate cannabis with the potential to generating about one billion dollars from the 50 billion-dollar global medicinal cannabis market.
In the area of job creation, the Chamber indicated the cannabis industry’s potential to creating jobs across multiple sectors; farming, pharmaceuticals, construction, textiles, cosmetics, and biofuel production.
“Ghana has the perfect opportunity to transition from a cocoa-dependent economy to a cannabis-powered industrial nation,” the Chamber said.
“With its countless applications, higher economic value, environmental benefits, and job-creation potential, cannabis is not just an alternative to cocoa—it is Ghana’s golden ticket to economic transformation.”
According to Allied Market Research, the global cannabis market size was valued at $25.7 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $148.9 billion by 2031.
In 2023, Ghana passed the Narcotics Control Commission Bill that grants permission for the cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes.
Source: GNA
