New approaches to regulating drugs in West Africa: exploring the impact of Ghana’s drug policy reform

Summary

Against the backdrop of increasing recognition of the failures of prohibitionist approaches to drug policy, Ghana’s legislative framework on drugs was radically reformed in 2020, introducing legislative alternatives to incarceration for drug possession for use. While the changes represent a beginning in the process of moving away from past failures and toward a future with a more evidence-based, human rights- and public health-centred approach to drugs, Ghana’s new legislation requires further review in order to align with emerging best practice.

Recommendations

• Decriminalise drug use, in alignment with the West Africa Commission on Drugs’ Model Drug Law for West Africa.
• Define appropriate quantity thresholds to differentiate possession for use and possession for supply.
• Move away from mandated, court-referred rehabilitation orders.
• Education and sensitisation of the provisions of the new law must be scaled up.
• States should adopt an explicit and clearly defined public health approach to drugs, including psychosocial interventions.
• A clear architecture for the implementation of harm reduction approaches in line with WHO guidelines should be introduced.
• Remove mandatory minimum sentences for trafficking offences, while maintaining maximum ceilings.
• Implement alternatives to punishment for low-level actors beyond people who use drugs in the drug trade.
• Contributions from civil society organisations and other non-state actors should be welcomed.
• Systematic data collection must be integrated into drug policies