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Cannabis as an ingredient in food or supplements (Nigeria)

In Nigeria, Cannabis also known as Indian hemp has been defined under the Dangerous Drugs Act and the Indian Hemp Act to mean any plant or part of a plant of the genus cannabis; or the separate resin, whether crude or puri-fied, obtained from any plant of the genus cannabis; or any preparation containing any such resin, by whatever name that plant, part, resin, preparation may be called. By the Provisions of the Dangerous Drugs Act, in Nigeria, the President reserves the right to make regulations for prohibiting the manufacture, sale or distribution of any such drug (as listed under Part III of the Act, which includes medical opium, any extract or tincture of Indian hemp, morphine and its salts, cocaine, etc) except by persons li-censed or otherwise authorized under the regulations and subject to any conditions specified in the license or au-thority. The Dangerous Drug Act makes it an offence for an unauthorized person to deal in dangerous drugs which by the provisions of the Act includes Indian hemp. Section 8 (1) (b) further classified the drugs to include any extract or tinc-ture of Indian hemp. Provided that such shall not apply to the importation or sale of any medical preparation of Indian hemp in circum-stances such that no offence against the Dangerous Drug Act is committed. In addition to the above, Section 5 of the National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control (NAFDAC) Act empowers NAFDAC to grant authorization for the import and export of narcotic drugs and psycho- tropic sub-stances as well as other controlled substances. From the above. Certain products with tincture of Cannabis maybe registered with the authorization of the regulatory agencies.

This is general information rather than legal advice and is current as of 30 May 2024. We recommend you contact a specialised food lawyer for legal advice for your particular circumstances to support commercial decisions which could impact your product or business.


Adeniji Oni

Nigeria
Niji Oni & Co