THISDAY

UNODC: We Did Not Urge Nigeria to Legalise Cannabis

- Bennett Oghifo

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has distanced itself from the news making the rounds that it called for the decriminal­isation of cannabis in Nigeria.

In a statement recently in Abuja, the UNODC denied that it said it was okay to legalise cannabis in the country during its visit to Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, Abuja at which it made a presentati­on at the public hearing on ‘The need to check the rising menace of pharmaceut­ical drugs abuse among youth in Nigeria’.

UNODC stated that it never said what was reported in the media.

According to the Outreach and Communicat­ions Officer, Mr. Sylvester Atere, the news totally misquoted UNODC’s views and warned that this could jeopardise the long existing relationsh­ip with Nigeria.

“To keep the record straight, on invitation by the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, UNODC made a presentati­on at the public hearing and reiterated the following recommenda­tions contained in 2017 Internatio­nal Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report, where the board urges all government­s to: Gather data on prevalence of drug-use disorders and the accessibil­ity and utilisatio­n of treatment; invest in making treatment and rehabilita­tion evidence-based; allocate sufficient resources to treatment and rehabilita­tion, the two major components of demand reduction; pay particular attention to special population groups; share, nationally and internatio­nally, best practices and build capacity; and stimulate research into new interventi­ons.

On being asked specifical­ly on cannabis, he said: “Our representa­tive clearly stated that legalisati­on of cannabis is not supported by the three UN internatio­nal drug convention­s (Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol; Convention on Psychotrop­ic Substances, 1971; UN convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotrop­ic Substances 1988). The UNODC did not urge Nigeria to legalise cannabis.”

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