Accra-based radio presenter and reggae musician Blakk Rasta has raised concerns over the practice of burning seized cannabis, cocaine, and other contraband drugs by the Ghanaian authorities.

According to him, there was no point in burning the items when these could be processed and sold for revenue by the government.

Speaking during his Black Pot segment of his radio show on Accra-based 3FM on August 9, 2024, Blakk Rasta questioned the logic behind burning the drugs, pointing out that countries like Holland and several states in the USA have legalised marijuana and generate revenue from its sale.

“Where is the sense in this? You go to Holland and ask the people to give you money. They sell weed and give you the money. You go to America, in a lot of the states they have legalised marijuana.

“Now you have free marijuana. Instead of processing it like cake, beautiful cake, you can even turn it into weed toffee and sell it out to people in whose countries this is very legal."

He added “Heroin and cocaine. Have we stopped using these in our pharmacies? Can't we turn those into drugs and medicines?”

Blakk Rasta also criticised the police and narcotics control officials for choosing the beach as the location to burn the drugs, instead of using an incinerator.

He highlighted the environmental impact of open burning, which could harm the ecosystem, including fish and birds.

“So the police have nowhere to burn so-called drugs except by the beach? Police have to carry this in a huge truck and bully everybody to stop on the street because they have nowhere to burn their marijuana. They have nowhere to burn their cocaine. They go to the beach where we go to sit down and have fun. To burn the so-called illicit drugs,” he stated.

He questioned why the police in Ghana do not have official incinerators in the 21st century and suggested that if he were the Ga Manche, he would sue them for this practice.

What happened?

Under the orders of the Accra Circuit Court, armed officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, alongside the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), destroyed a substantial quantity of illicit drugs at Osu Beach in Accra on August 8, 2024.

The operation involved the incineration of 242 sacks of marijuana, 16 kilograms of cocaine, and buckets of heroin.

In addition to the marijuana, the items destroyed included buckets, boxes, and bottles filled with cocaine. The marijuana had a potency of 0.6, which is higher than the 0.3 used for industrial purposes.

The destruction took place at the seashore behind the Black Star Square in Accra and is part of Ghana's broader strategy to curb the production, sale, and consumption of narcotic substances within the country.

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