Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has expressed the dire need for the Federal Government to encourage the cultivation of medical cannabis.
Ondo state being the hotbed of cannabis (Marijuana/Indian Hemp) cultivation in Nigeria. He urged the Federal Government to support the growth of medical cannabis. Akeredolu says the marijuana industry was capable of creating thousands of jobs for youths and spur diversity in the country.
He made the request via his twitter handle on Tuesday. The governor is his recent visit to Thailand says he was in the company of the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Col. Muhammad Mustapha (retd).
The theme for the program titled; ‘Medical Cannabis Extract Development’.
According to him, Nigeria might dwindle with an estimated value of $145bn in 2025 if it failed to tap into the legal marijuana market. He explained that their visit was to assess the materials and best practices (of medicinal cannabis planting and growing) and the possibility of replicating it in Nigeria.
He said; “We are here to study how marijuana can be of more advantageous to the state and Nigeria. Just the same way the Thai Government has done. Marijuana is used for medical purposes; how can it be cultivated and not abused.”
“The program is centered on exploiting the possibility of medical cannabis extract development. It is aimed at building capacity and researching the modality of licensing for planting and extracting cannabis oil in Nigeria. And exploiting its commercial potential with a focus on Ondo State.
“We know how to grow it and it thrives well in the Sunshine State. How to grow cannabis is never a problem in Ondo State”.
The growth will be under the supervision of the NDLEA. He said marijuana farming is, at the moment, a problem in the state because of clashes between the farmers and NDLEA agents.
