…seeks research into benefits
Ondo State governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, on Thursday restated his belief that outlawed weed, cannabis sativa, which is also known as Indian hemp, is beneficial to the human body.
Akeredolu thus charged pharmacists in the country to conduct an in-depth research into the various uses of the weed, for medicinal purposes.
The governor stated this at the 40th anniversary and the 2021 Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria National Scientific Conference, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
Akeredolu was the Special Guest of Honour at the event.
He said since pharmacists had been working on herbs, more in-depth research into cannabis for medicinal purposes should also be embarked upon, as it is “one of the pathways to control its cultivation”.
He said, “In Ogbese (a community in Ondo State), we can have a farm where NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) will be in charge. Nobody can take it out to smoke. From there, it gets to you for medicinal purposes.
“Pharmacists have been working on herbs, you can research on this too. It is one of the pathways to the controlled cultivation. We should not be left behind. We have started to champion the issue of red oil that has to do with palm. We will champion the green oil too in Ondo State.
“We are looking to pathway of cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. It can be achieved. I have visited Thailand with the then chairman of the NDLEA. We were at all the important institutions. We went through all the processes of cultivating it for medicinal purposes. We saw it by ourselves.”
Earlier, one of the speakers at the event, a pharmacist, Mr. Nonso Maduka, said there was the need for Nigeria to allow a pilot situation, considering the fact that cannabis still has industrial and export value.
