The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has alerted Nigerians to the circulation of dangerous illicit substances being falsely packaged and marketed to the public as medicinal cannabis.

This is contained in a statement by the NDLEA, Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi on Wednesday in Abuja.

The NDLEA said that the public alert came on the heels of credible intelligence, which led to the arrest of a 28-year-old drug kingpin on Saturday, November 1 at his 2 Akala St., off Umoru St., Idi Oro, Mushin-Lagos.

The agency said that the suspect was nabbed where he was packaging and distributing the fake medicinal cannabis in designer pouches and cups.

He said, “A total of 16.4 kilograms of dangerous and synthetic strains of cannabis were recovered from his store. This include Colorado, Arizona, Canadian Loud and Ghana Loud packaged in designer pouches and cups labelled as medicinal cannabis.

​”The agency therefore wishes to warn Nigerians especially youths that these so-called medicinal products are, in reality, adulterated and highly potent strains of dangerous psychoactive substances. They are not the regulated, safe pharmaceutical preparations they are purported to be.”

The agency said that investigations confirmed that the seized and recovered products being peddled under the guise of therapeutic cannabis, contain dangerously high concentrations of illicit and harmful strains of cannabis.

The agency added that this included “Loud,” known for its extreme potency and severe psychological effects; Arizona, a highly concentrated and destructive variant of cannabis.

Others are Colorado, a potent, often synthetic, strain with devastating consequences on the user’s mental and physical health.

​”Rather than the purported medicinal cannabis in the designer pouches and cups, the strains are highly addictive and pose a significant, immediate threat to public health and safety.

“This is because they are associated with severe mental health issues, including psychosis, acute anxiety, paranoia, and other long-term cognitive impairments, especially among young people,”the agency said.

​Speaking on the development, the NDLEA Chairman, Brig.- Gen. Buba Marwa(retd) said, ”The criminal elements behind the deceit are only exploiting the global conversation around medicinal cannabis to push their illicit and life-destroying products into our communities.”

Mr Marwa said that cannabis remained a prohibited substance in Nigeria and as such any product being sold locally under the guise of ‘medicinal cannabis’ was not only fake, and dangerous but also illegal.”

​The NDLEA boss urged the public to be vigilant and not be deceived by misleading labels, fancy packaging, or false health claims.

“Please do not consume it, report any person or group involved in the illicit trade of these dangerous substances to the nearest NDLEA office,” he said.

(NAN)