NACOC to Crack Down on Cannabis Farms Using Schoolchildren in Volta Region
NACOC Moves to Shut Down Cannabis Farms Exploiting Schoolchildren in Volta
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) states that it will soon commence a major operation in the Volta Region. The goal: stop cannabis farms that use schoolchildren as cheap labour.
Reports from local chiefs revealed that some pupils now skip school to work on marijuana farms in Vakpo, Wusuta, and Gbefi. They earn very little and are often exposed to drug use.
Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, described the situation as dangerous. He warned that if left unchecked, the region could lose many of its youth to addiction and crime.
“Some children are given the drugs to smoke,” he said. “Once they’re hooked, they lose direction in life.”
He called on security agencies to take urgent action.
NACOC has responded. In an interview with Citi FM, the Commission said it is planning an intelligence-led crackdown.
Francis Opoku Amoah, Acting Director of Public Affairs at NACOC, called the situation illegal and unacceptable. He said it violates both Ghana’s drug and labour laws.
“It is wrong for children to be involved in such activities,” he said. “They should be in school, not on drug farms.”
He explained that although Ghana’s drug law allows for licensed hemp farming (with very low THC), no one currently has permission to grow it.
“The Minister for the Interior has not issued any licence,” he stressed. “So all current farms are illegal.”
NACOC has already cleared over 50 acres of illegal cannabis farms in the Volta Region. Now, they are preparing to go further.
“We are not just burning farms,” Mr Amoah explained. “We are going after the people behind them the financiers, recruiters, and sellers.”
He said NACOC is working closely with police, national security, and intelligence agencies. Their goal is to shut down the full network, not just the farms.
Mr Amoah added that the Commission is taking this issue seriously, especially because it involves children.
“This is not something we joke with,” he said.
He called on community leaders to support the operation and help protect Ghana’s youth.
