Africa is ripe for serious Cannabis policy reform as communities grapple with barriers to entry against a backdrop of an image of our favourite plant being the green cash cow to economic liberation (for some). As laws inch away from complete prohibition, a different kind of struggle begins.

Fields of Green for ALL was honoured to be invited to participate in a workshop to mark “Ghana’s Critical Cannabis Moment” and address issues of economic justice. Presented by the Transnational Research Centre on Emerging Drug Markets which is hosted by Loughborough University in the UK, we shared the room in Accra with drug policy colleagues from around the world, many whom we have met before. Also present were Rastafari Leaders, legal minds, farmers, activists, law enforcement and Ghana’s first and only two Cannabis license holders.

What is Economic Justice? This big question framed discussions on the first day. A law is a starting point. Ghana “decriminalised” the possession and use of all drugs in 2020, including Cannabis for health and industrial uses. The THC threshold for all Cannabis in Ghana is 0.3%. At the workshop we discussed how implementation shapes change, and this is why Ghana is at a critical stage of the development of its Cannabis industry. But experience can also inform change. Stories from lived experience were shared as we watched the reactions from both law enforcement and the licensees, outliers in the room who were, nevertheless, learning from the experiences of the people.

I travelled with our longtime colleague and fellow Cannabis activist, Philasande Mahlakata from Abalimi BoMya Association in Pondoland. We were given a generous amount of time to share our South African story. We are so proud that we have the Constitutional right to use, cultivate and possess Cannabis and that we have, to some extent, ticked an important Human Rights box. However, South Africa is very far away from being an example for the rest of Africa. What we have learned over the years is that there are no “firsts” in Africa. There are only dedicated people around the world, across our continent and within our beautiful land working hard to find solutions to our Cannabis conundrum. From the evils of colonialism and slavery to the enduring stigma, economic exclusion and harsh enforcement, African countries are the same but different. Nobody is ahead of anyone else.

Ghana imposes fines for Cannabis possession, but it is the cage for you if you rack up three fines and can’t pay. That is not “decriminalisation”. I felt like I was back home in South Africa when participants shared of their experiences of police corruption and rampant bribery. The “cooldrink money” is ubiquitous. It is our wish that Fields of Green for ALL’s Police Reform Project outcomes will lay some ground for the difficult task of reforming law enforcement after a century of prohibition.

In Ghana, NACOB – the Narcotics Control Board – a division of the Ghanaian police, is also the regulator of Cannabis for Health and Industrial uses. The remnants of prohibition are alive and well when one institution holds both the carrot and the stick. Who are we to point fingers? In South Africa, we have no regulator for our Constitutional rights, written into law but left to our communities to navigate with no map. It is embarrassing to tell the world that our momentous wins have stalled in the halls of government bureaucracy. To say nothing about economic justice.

We are not free until we are all free.

Heartfelt thanks to Ghana for your amazing hospitality and fellowship. These experiences enrich us all. Wishing everyone all the best on the road to economic justice for all who love the Cannabis plant. We are not alone.