Scientific breakthroughs are expanding the medical potential of cannabis-derived compounds, yet Ghana risks missing both the health and economic benefits of the emerging industry because of regulatory delays and high licensing costs.
Recent research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem illustrates how rapidly the science is advancing. Researchers found that two non-psychoactive compounds from the cannabis plant could help treat Metabolic Dysfunction‑Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), commonly known as fatty liver disease, which affects about one in three adults globally.
The study showed that the compounds Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG) may improve liver health by altering how the organ manages energy and clears harmful fats and waste. The findings, published in The British Journal of Pharmacology, add to growing evidence that cannabinoids may play a role in treating metabolic disorders.
Such discoveries are helping to fuel rapid growth in the legal cannabis industry worldwide. Spending on legal cannabis is expected to reach nearly $50 billion by 2027, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of about 13.7% from 2020. Global spending could reach about $57 billion by 2030.
The cannabis market in United States and Canada alone is estimated at about $46.5 billion, while other markets account for roughly $10.5 billion. The fastest growth is projected in emerging regions, where spending could reach around $2 billion by 2030 as new countries legalize cultivation and medical use.
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Against that backdrop, Ghana’s own medicinal cannabis industry remains largely stalled. The country legalized cannabis cultivation for industrial and medicinal purposes in 2020 under the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019). The legislation was intended to create a regulated sector centered on hemp and medical cannabis production.
Years later, however, the industry has yet to take off. The licensing framework administered by the Narcotics Control Commission has faced criticism from farmers and potential investors who say the fees required to enter the industry are prohibitively high. Early proposals suggested licensing costs could run into tens of thousands of dollars, drawing objections from industry groups that warned the structure would exclude most local producers.
The issue reached the courts in February, when a Ghanaian farmer filed a case at the Supreme Court of Ghana challenging the licensing regime. The suit argues that high dollar-denominated fees create barriers for small farmers and may be unconstitutional because they effectively restrict participation to wealthy investors.
Industry advocates say the current framework risks concentrating the benefits of the sector among a small group of well-capitalized players rather than supporting broad participation across the agricultural economy. That outcome would undermine one of the key arguments for developing the industry in the first place.
Officials and industry advocates have previously suggested that a well-structured medicinal cannabis sector could generate as much as $1 billion annually for Ghana’s economy through exports, job creation and tax revenue. Yet those ambitions may prove difficult to achieve if the licensing structure discourages investment or excludes smaller producers.
There is also a strategic dimension to the delay. Countries that move early in emerging industries tend to shape the rules, attract research partnerships and build supply chains that later entrants struggle to replicate. Nations such as Israel, Canada and Lesotho have already established regulatory frameworks that allow them to cultivate, process and export medicinal cannabis products while supporting pharmaceutical research.
Meanwhile, the science around cannabinoids continues to advance. Studies exploring CBD and related compounds are expanding into treatments for neurological disorders, chronic pain and metabolic diseases such as fatty liver disease. As those discoveries accumulate, the industry around them is likely to grow.
For Ghana, the challenge is not whether cannabis should be regulated. Strict oversight is necessary to prevent misuse and ensure the industry develops responsibly. The real policy question is whether the regulatory structure encourages participation and innovation or restricts it.
A licensing framework that prices out local farmers risks turning what could be a broad agricultural opportunity into a narrow investment niche dominated by a handful of large players. Without adjustments such as tiered licensing fees or clearer regulatory pathways, the sector could become an example of elite capture rather than inclusive growth.
Ghana has the climate, agricultural expertise and export infrastructure needed to compete in the medicinal cannabis market. What it lacks at the moment is a regulatory system that allows the industry to develop at scale.
As global spending on legal cannabis accelerates toward tens of billions of dollars, the window for early participation is narrowing. The question for Ghana is whether it intends to build a competitive industry or watch a fast-growing global market pass it by.
