“The Medical Cannabis Project Nigeria was conceived to bridge this gap. We are not advocating a “free-for-all” street market. On the contrary, we are proposing a sophisticated, Controlled Access Framework.”
In a quiet room in Abuja, nine-year-old Bomboy lies exhausted, his small body recovering from his tenth seizure of the day. Bomboy suffers from a rare and severe form of treatment-resistant epilepsy, likely Dravet Syndrome or Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS).
For children like Bomboy, the world is a chaotic cycle of electrical storms in the brain that defy conventional anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). His parents have watched him endure a pharmacopeia of traditional medications, yet the seizures persist, cognitive development stalls, and the shadow of SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) looms large.
Bomboy is not just a medical case; he is a mirror reflecting a profound failure in our legal architecture. His suffering is not a medical necessity; it is a regulatory choice. Science has already provided an answer: Cannabidiol (CBD).
Specifically, highly purified, non-psychoactive CBD formulations have been shown to reduce seizure frequency by over 50 percent in children with these rare syndromes.
Yet, in Nigeria, this life-altering therapy remains trapped behind a wall of outdated statutes. Today, as we launch this column, we must confront the most pressing frontier in Nigerian health law: the legal path to Medical Cannabis.
The Constitutional Mandate For Therapeutic Access
The cornerstone of this argument is Section 34(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which declares that “every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person” and prohibits “inhuman or degrading treatment.”
In the realm of health law, dignity is not a passive concept; it is an enforceable right. When we speak of “inhuman treatment,” we often visualise physical violence, yet the law recognises that the state’s omission, the failure to provide a regulatory pathway for relief, can be just as cruel.
To knowingly withhold a scientifically-proven therapeutic agent like medical cannabis from a child in the throes of status epilepticus is, in itself, a form of systemic cruelty.
The right to dignity must include the right for a child to grow without the constant trauma of neurological storms. This is further reinforced by Article 16 of the African Charter, which guarantees the “best attainable state of physical and mental health.”
If the global scientific community, backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises the efficacy of CBD for pediatric epilepsy, then a legal framework that ignores this evidence is no longer fulfilling its constitutional duty.
Resolving The NDLEA-NAFDAC Contradiction
The primary barrier to relief in Nigeria is a legal policy knot. On one hand, the NDLEA Act continues to treat all cannabis derivatives through the lens of criminality. On the other, the NAFDAC 2023/2024 Guidelines and recent pharmaceutical trends acknowledge the regulatory pathway for “Investigational Medicinal Products.”
This tension creates a “human rights vacuum.” Clinicians are paralysed by the fear of drug enforcement, while parents are forced to choose between breaking the law and watching their children suffer.
We must resolve this by separating therapeutic access from criminal diversion. A unified, health-forward policy is not just a medical need; it is a constitutional imperative to uphold the dignity of the person.
The Medical Cannabis Project Nigeria: A Vision For Reform
The Medical Cannabis Project Nigeria was conceived to bridge this gap. We are not advocating a “free-for-all” street market. On the contrary, we are proposing a sophisticated, Controlled Access Framework.
The Controlled Access Framework
By integrating medical cannabis into our emerging digital health architecture—leveraging the Digital Health Bill 2025 for seed-to-patient tracking—Nigeria can ensure that cannabis is treated as what it truly is: a potent phytomedicine. Our neighbours are already showing the way.
Ghana’s 2024 legalisation and South Africa’s landmark rulings in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development &Ors v. Prince (2018) ZAAC 30) demonstrate that a nation can be both orderly and compassionate.
Nigeria, as the giant of Africa, cannot afford to be the laggard in this global shift toward dignity. This is the time to shift the focus from a purely “criminal’ perspective of cannabis to a “rights-based” perspective.
A Call For Courageous Law
The law is a living organism; it must grow to meet the needs of the suffering. If our current statutes deny a child like Bomboy the relief that science confirms, then those statutes are not just outdated—they are unjust.
This reflection must lead to a new era of legislative courage. We call upon the National Assembly to initiate a structured, evidence-based review of the NDLEA Act. We need a law that can distinguish between the drug trafficker and the physician prescribing a life-saving CBD protocol.
It is time to harmonise the punitive mandates of enforcement with the palliative mandates of healthcare. No Nigerian family should be forced to choose between being law-abiding and saving their child’s life. The right to dignity is not a suggestion; it is a mandate. It is time our laws reflected that truth.
Know Your Rights
A Legal Sidebar: Section 34: Your right to dignity and freedom from unmanaged suffering.
The Solution
A regulated, medical-grade framework for cannabis-based medicines (e.g., high-CBD formulations).
Action
Support the Medical Cannabis Project Nigeria in its mission for therapeutic access.
•Olatunde Sanu, Executive Director of the Medical Cannabis Project Nigeria, is a Nigerian lawyer and health law scholar with research and practice interests in digital health law, mental health law, medical negligence, and comparative health regulation. He can be reached vide telephone No. +234 8166182359 or email: sanuattorneys@gmail.com.
