By
Isaac Arkoh, GNA
Cape Coast, Aug. 18,
GNA – Mr Kofi Akpaloo, the Founder and Leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana
(LPG), has declared the Party’s intention to legalise and regulate the
commercial production and export of marijuana or “wee” if it wins the
2020 election.
Regardless of the
psychological, mental, legal and health implications of its use, the Party
believes the socio-economic value and health benefits of the plant are enormous
to ignore its legalization.
He said the
“indigenous African sacred herb” remains key to resuscitating Ghana’s
wobbling economic quagmire and financial abyss – it is used for making car
dashboards, door handles, clothes, and treatment of cancer, convulsion,
epilepsy among others.
Speaking in an
interview with the media in Cape Coast, Mr Akpaloo said the legalisation of
marijuana would raise a substantial amount of revenue, normalise trade
imbalances, create employment and put a lot of money into the pockets of
individual farmers.
Giving statistics to
buttress his claims, he said, it has contributed more than $6billion after its
legalization in Canada and generated about $135 million in taxes and fees on
medical and recreational marijuana use in Colorado as sales in the state
totaled over $996 million.
In North America,
sale grew by 30 percent, to $6.7 billion, in 2016, and is projected to increase
to $20.1 billion by 2021.
Touching on the
various revenue streams to the country, he said, the cultivation of the herb
was more profitable than cocoa and rallied support for its legalization.
“Ghana stands
to gain more from international trade of marijuana than cocoa because a kilo of
marijuana is $3,000 whereas a kilo of cocoa is $20. An acre of marijuana farm
will fetch 100 bags while same acre will yield 10 bags of cocoa,” he said.
On the 2020 polls,
Mr Akpaloo said, his Party was the most favorite to win but cautioned that a
vote for Mr John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
presidential candidate for the 2020 election would be dangerous and suicidal.
It would be disaster
should Ghanaians vote for Mr Mahama and his government back into power, and
said “he has nothing new to offer Ghanaians and that he is an old wine in
a new bottle.
To him, the
Akufo-Addo led administration has put in place several interventions which have
seen the economy booming after inheriting a poor and hopeless economic growth
from Mahama’s regime.
He said President
Akufo-Addo was doing his best to salvage the economy, looking at his good work
and commitment to deliver on his promises to Ghanaians.
Yet, he rallied the
rank and file of his supporters to remain hopeful in LPG as it puts in place
well thought-out policies to attract and retain more votes in the 2020 polls.
GNA
