UN says cannabis is a miracle drug, urges Nigeria not to criminalise usage

The Project Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Nigeria, Harsheth Kaur Virk, on Monday, March 26, said marijuana is a miracle drug allowed for medical reasons by the global body, adding that it is not for recreational purposes.

Virk stated this in her presentation at a one day Public hearing on the need to check rising menace of Pharmaceutical drugs abuse among youth in Nigeria organised by the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Health.

She said, "Nigeria as a sovereign Nation has its stringent laws against it but international conventions of the UN have approved it for medical purposes based on outcome of researches conducted to that effect by globally recognized institutes."

The UN also recommends that aside marijuana, recreational users of other addictive drugs should not be criminalised, but rehabilitated, Virk noted.

"The Drugs and Crime office of the UN sees addictive drugs users as people who are sick, in need of treatment, care and rehabilitation", she added.

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Although marijuana is illegal in Nigeria, the country is a major source of West African-grown marijuana, and ranked world's eight highest consumer of the drug.

It is widely grown across the States of Nigeria including Ondo State, Edo State, Delta State, Osun State, Oyo State and Ogun State.