Sowore calls for Nigeria to legalise cannabis, tap into its economic and medicinal potential

African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has urged Nigeria to look beyond the recreational use of cannabis and explore its potential in medicine, manufacturing, construction and other areas of the economy.

Sowore made the call during an appearance on the BTC Podcast, where he argued that cannabis has several applications that could benefit the country if properly regulated and developed.

Explaining the different ways the plant can be used, he noted that THC, a compound found in cannabis, is responsible for the intoxicating effect associated with the plant. He also pointed out that cannabis can be consumed in forms other than smoking.

“Cann@bis has just 3% of what they call THC, which is the one that makes people high. Cann@bis can be consumed in more than one way. The sm%king is the device that people use so that they can inhale it, it gets faster. Cann@bis can be eaten as brownies. Cann@bis can be cooked, you know,” he said.

Addressing assumptions that his advocacy for cannabis means he personally consumes it, Sowore maintained that he does not use the plant. He instead highlighted what he described as its wider industrial applications.

“But before you say that I have been taking cann@bis for a long time, which I don’t consume, by the way, it has several other uses. The stem of a cann@bis plant is the best for making clothes. Now it’s been detected or discovered that cann@bis makes the best blocks for building houses,” he said.

According to the politician, cannabis fibre could also have applications in housing, claiming that buildings constructed with the material could require less reliance on air conditioning.

“Yes. Like if you build houses with the stem or the fiber of cann@bis, you won’t even need air conditioning. But most important, it’s medicine. So my proposal is for us to actually be exporting it and raising money for medicine,” Sowore said.

He further argued that Nigeria could generate revenue by developing the cannabis industry, particularly through exports and medicinal applications.

Sowore cited Canada as an example, noting that the country legalised cannabis in 2018 and, according to him, has generated significant economic value from the industry.

“And the economic argument that brought me to that, in 2018, most countries are not even legalizing cann@bis. But Canada legalized around that period, and Canada is making four billion dollars every year,” he added.