Ghana’s decision to legalise industrial and medicinal cannabis could unlock a new pillar of economic growth if the sector is structured around processing, manufacturing and exports rather than raw cultivation, according to Dr. Mark Darko, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Cannabis Industry Ghana.
Speaking on the maiden edition of The High Street Journal’s X Space series, Dr.Darko said Ghana’s cannabis policy shift places the country among a small group of early movers in what is projected to become a multi-billion-dollar global industry, but warned that legalization alone will not deliver value.
“Value can only be created by proper regulation, investment deal flows, capacity building, and market accesses,” he said.
Ghana amended its narcotics law in 2023 to allow the cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes, particularly low-THC hemp. The Chamber of Cannabis Industry became operational shortly after, positioning itself as an industry association representing licensed players in what Darko described as a “highly regulated market space.”
“We’re working hard to become an apex body. That is the mouthpiece of the cannabis industry players,” he said, adding that the chamber focuses on advocacy, international partnerships, investment flows and industry coordination.
Dr.Darko traced cannabis’ historical use as an industrial crop, arguing that global prohibition in the 20th century severed the plant from its economic roots. He said current policy shifts worldwide reflect a reassessment driven by science and economic considerations rather than ideology.
“What changed in the 20th century was not the plant itself… but there has been a policy shift,” he said. “But today, we are witnessing a global policy correction.”
He stressed that Ghana has not legalised recreational cannabis, drawing a distinction between psychoactive products and industrial hemp. “What Ghana has legalized… is industrial and medicinal cannabis, not recreational cannabis,” Darko said. “The cannabis that has been legalized in Ghana doesn’t have that in it at all. So it is purely for medicine and for industrial purposes only.”
According to Dr.Darko, the real economic opportunity lies across the cannabis value chain. While cultivation can support farmer cooperatives and agribusiness investors, he said higher returns are generated through processing and extraction, where cannabis is converted into oils, fibres and pharmaceutical inputs.
“Farming alone is not where the highest value is,” he said. “Processing cannabis into oils, into isolates, into fibres, into industrial inputs… is where serious value can be created.”
He highlighted downstream opportunities in pharmaceuticals, wellness products, sustainable textiles, construction materials such as hempcrete, food, beverages and bioplastics, arguing that the industry offers Ghana a chance to move beyond raw exports toward value-added manufacturing.
“Cannabis gives our country and our continent a chance to move beyond raw exports to value-added processing and manufacturing,” Dr.Darko said, adding that the sector could create thousands of skilled and semi-skilled jobs, attract foreign direct investment and generate export revenues.
Ghana’s geographic position and air links to Europe and North America could support export-led growth, he said, but cautioned that success depends on compliance with international standards and strong institutional oversight.
“There are risks,” Dr.Darko noted, citing poor regulation, speculative investment and over-reliance on raw exports. “But remember that without structure, this industry will fail, but with structure, it can really transform.”
According to him the Chamber is focused on training, standards development and investor readiness to ensure local entrepreneurs are not crowded out as the industry scales. “We don’t want farmers to be exploited. We want the industry to develop very responsibly and also sustainably,” he said.
Darko framed industrial cannabis as a long-term economic play rather than a trend. “Ghana’s industrial cannabis industry is not about hype. It is about jobs. It’s about investments, industrialization, and global competitiveness,” he said.
“The market is not local. The market is global. The window is now,” he added, arguing that early action could allow cannabis to emerge as a major economic pillar alongside cocoa, gold and timber.
