The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has kicked against the planned legalisation of cannabis in Nigeria.

Laraba Shoda, the NCWS national president, said this in a statement on Monday.

Ms Shoda advised that individuals who want to use it for medication should use established legal channels.

The House of Representatives had expressed readiness to legalise the use of cannabis in Nigeria due to its economic benefits.

“As Nigerian women, we say no to the legalisation of cannabis sativa. We already have lots of challenges in the country that are associated with drugs abuse. Legalising weed will further worsen our situation, in spite of its tremendous benefits,” argued Ms Shoda. “I am sure we are not ready as a nation to handle the legalisation of the weed at this time.”

The NCWS boss added that many Nigerian youths, including women, were already involved in drug abuse.

“In my view, we should not legalise cannabis sativa yet, when there is little to no research data on the various areas the plant is cultivated since most people grow them in secrecy in our environment,” Ms Shoda further explained. “We should rather start with given relevant stakeholders the mandate to coordinate research across schools of pharmacy in the country to develop validated analytical methods to do quantitative phytochemistry.”

She noted that the conversation “as a nation” should centre on “what science is required and what scientific capability the country has” that might safely drive the legality of cannabis sativa use in Nigeria.

(NAN)