Nature's Vacuum: The Humble Plant Cleaning Up Chernobyl's Nuclear Fallout And Modern 'Forever Chemicals'

When we picture industrial cleanup, we imagine heavy machinery and harsh chemicals carving up the landscape. But now, an unlikely hero is emerging from the soil itself: industrial hemp, a powerful plant acting as nature's vacuum, capable of scrubbing the earth clean from the inside out. It Acts Like a Biological Vacuum Cleaner

The science behind this natural cleanup process is known as phytoremediation. Through a specific form of this called phytoextraction, hemp draws toxins from deep within the earth up into its own biomass. This isn't a passive process; the plant is uniquely equipped to seek out and absorb contaminants.

Two key biological features make this possible:

• Deep-Dive Roots: Hemp has an extensive taproot system that can reach pollutants buried deep in the subsoil, accessing toxic materials that other plants simply cannot.

• Hyperaccumulation: Hemp is a "hyperaccumulator," meaning it doesn't just tolerate toxins—it actively and efficiently draws them up. It pulls heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and nickel, and even radioactive elements, out of the soil and stores them in its stalks and leaves.

Hemp tackles everything from nuclear fallout to forever chemicals. This green technology isn't just a theory; it is already being deployed on the front lines of some of the world's most difficult environmental challenges.

Chernobyl: Following the nuclear disaster, hemp was planted in the contaminated region to help absorb radioactive isotopes from the soil and begin the long process of recovery. At former military sites in Maine, hemp has been used successfully to extract PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) the notorious "forever chemicals" that contaminate soil and water systems.

Across the United Kingdom, hemp is being used on abandoned industrial plots to strip away decades of heavy metal contamination, preparing the land for a new, clean life. Because the hemp used for this remediation is not grown as a food crop, there is no risk of these toxins entering the human food chain. Once the plants have absorbed the contaminants, the harvested biomass is disposed of safely, leaving behind cleaner, nutrient-rich earth and setting the stage for nature's recovery.

Hemp just does not take away the bad stuff; it adds back the good . Hemp’s benefits extend beyond simply removing pollutants. While it vacuums up the bad, it also actively contributes to the good, leaving the soil healthier than it found it.

As the plant grows, it improves the soil's physical structure, boosts the activity of beneficial microbes, and adds essential organic matter back into the earth. This dual-action approach makes hemp a cost-effective, eco-friendly, and restorative solution. Its rapid growth cycle means this healing process can happen in a single season, far outpacing other natural solutions.

For some of our most challenging, man-made environmental problems, a natural, plant-based solution already exists. Hemp demonstrates that effective remediation doesn't always require more chemicals or machinery, but rather a smarter partnership with the natural world's own cleanup crew. It begs the question: what other powerful, green solutions are we overlooking in our mission to heal the planet?

Anytime you think of soil pollution, think hemp!

Ghana’s Healing Law is Killing its Patients: The Bitter Irony of Act 1019

The Revolution That Stalled

In 2020, Ghana promised the world a legislative masterpiece. The passage of the Narcotics Control Commission Act (Act 1019) was heralded as a "revolution," a decisive pivot from the blunt-force trauma of handcuffs to the healing hands of public health. It was supposed to be the moment science finally triumphed over stigma.

But six years later, the "promised land" of reform looks suspiciously like the old regime in a new suit. While the rhetoric has shifted to "compassion," the machinery of the state remains unapologetically punitive. Act 1019 is a law currently at war with itself—a schizophrenic piece of legislation that attempts to be both a doctor and a jailer. For the vulnerable Ghanaians caught in its gears, this legal paradox is proving to be a death sentence.

2. The "Public Health" Paradox: Treating Patients as Criminals

The fundamental rot in Act 1019 is its dual identity. Section 3(i) instructs the Narcotics Control Commission to "ensure that substance use disorders are treated as a public health issue." It is a noble mandate on paper, yet it is systematically strangled by Sections 37, 41, and 45 of the very same law. These sections explicitly criminalise the personal possession and purchase of drugs, effectively hunting the very "patients" the state claims it wants to save.

This "user-as-criminal" framework does more than just confuse the courts; it actively sabotages the health mission. By keeping the threat of a prison cell on the table, the law drives users into the shadows, far from the reach of harm reduction services.

"Plainly, there is a chasm into which policies fall on the way from the rhetoric to the reality." — Dr. Joanne Csete, drug policy scholar.

3. A Fine Too High to Pay: The Illusion of Alternatives

The most celebrated "alternative" in Act 1019 is the use of fines instead of immediate imprisonment. However, an investigative look at the numbers reveals this to be a cruel illusion. Fines for possession range from GHS 2,400 to GHS 6,000, but the real trap lies in the purchase of drugs for personal use. These fines start at GHS 24,000 and can skyrocket to GHS 120,000.

Compare this to the average Ghanaian monthly salary of approximately GHS 3,700. For a marginalised citizen struggling with addiction, a GHS 24,000 fine is not an "alternative" to jail—it is a different pathway to the same cell. This system effectively creates a two-tier justice system: the wealthy pay for their health, while the poor pay with their freedom. As one NACOC official bluntly admitted, those who can afford to use drugs in private homes or cars are never seen. It is only the "poorer people" in the slums and streets who get caught in the dragnet.

4. The "Waakye" Trap: Why Vague Definitions Lead to 10-Year Sentences

The law’s provision regarding "possession for use" is dangerously vague, lacking any quantified thresholds to distinguish a user from a trafficker. Instead, the law relies on the ambiguous phrase "a quantity which can reasonably be used by an individual in a day."

This legal grey area grants massive, unchecked discretion to officers on the street. Without a specific weight-based metric, a "gift" of a small amount of a substance can be escalated into a trafficking charge at the whim of the prosecution. This ambiguity perversely incentivises users to make frequent, small purchases—forcing them into constant contact with criminal markets and increasing their risk of arrest.

The human cost is heartbreaking. Distinguished judges have voiced their alarm over cases where the law’s rigid mandates leave them no choice but to be cruel. In one instance, a judge was forced to sentence a young woman to a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. Her "trafficking" crime? Hiding a tiny amount of drugs in a meal of waakye to send to her boyfriend in prison. Under a poorly written law, a simple act of personal connection became a decade-long sentence.

5. The Data Doesn't Lie: A Mirror to a Public Health Emergency

The preliminary findings of the 2025 Integrated Bio-Behavioural Survey (IBBS) from the University of Ghana School of Public Health are a damning indictment of this status quo. The statistics reveal a public health emergency fueled by state-sponsored fear:

• HIV Prevalence: 12.5% among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) vs. only 2% in the general population.
• Hepatitis C Prevalence: Reaching a staggering 12.7% in certain regions.
• Awareness Deficit: Only 27.7% of HIV-positive drug users are even aware of their status.

The synthesis here is inescapable: the IBBS data shows that nearly 50% of drug users have been harassed or arrested by officers in the last six months. When half the population is being hunted by the state, they don't just avoid police—they avoid the clinics that could save their lives. This is why three-quarters of HIV-positive users are walking around without a diagnosis; you cannot treat a population that is in hiding.

6. The Stigma Cycle: Help That Comes Too Late

Perhaps the most illogical hurdle is Section 45(5), which offers treatment and rehabilitation only after a criminal conviction and the potential imposition of massive fines. This "punishment followed by an offer of treatment" model is a relic of a failed era.

By requiring a conviction first, the state ensures that a person is branded a criminal before they are ever helped as a patient. This criminal record creates lifelong barriers to employment, education, and housing, making social reintegration nearly impossible. By the time the state offers "healing," it has already destroyed the individual's ability to live a productive life.

7. Conclusion: Beyond Paper Reforms

If Ghana intends to meet the "10-10-10" global targets—international goals aimed at reducing punitive laws, stigma, and discrimination to less than 10%—the 2026 amendments are a non-negotiable deadline. We must stop pretending that a law can heal while it continues to hunt.

Necessary Pillars for Reform:

• Defining Thresholds: Parliament must specify drug quantities to distinguish personal use from trafficking, removing officer discretion.
• Passing the Non-Custodial Sentencing Bill: Prioritising community service and rehabilitation to save national resources and reduce prison congestion.
• Protecting Harm Reduction: Legally safeguarding the distribution of life-saving medical supplies like clean syringes and Naloxone.

• Clarifying Act 1019: Amending Sections 37, 41, and 45 to ensure that personal use is fully decriminalised and handled through health channels, not criminal ones.

Ghana stands at a crossroads. We can continue to enforce a "draconian" tradition that fills our prisons and fuels our HIV epidemic, or we can finally align our actions with our rhetoric. Can we choose science and compassion over the failed policies of the past? The lives of thousands of Ghanaians depend on the answer.

https://idpc.net/blog/2020/04/parliament-of-ghana-passes-historic-new-drug-law-paving-the-way-for-a-west-african-approach?

SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT: RESPONSE TO CSOS CALLING FOR CRIMINALIZATION OF DRUG USE IN GHANA.

We have read the CSOs petition to the President and the Speaker of parliament on why Ghana should not legalize cannabis.

First and foremost, we want to emphatically state, the current narcotics bill before parliament is not seeking to legalize drugs, the bill before parliament is seeking to decriminalize drug use and place the health and well-being of its citizens at the forefront of its constitutional mandate by treating drug use as a health issue.

Ghana is a signatory to the 3 international conventions, that is 1961, 1971 and 1988 convention and the preamble-of these conventions mandate all member states to place the health and well-being of its citizens in the implementation of these conventions. Fairly, is continuous punishment of people who use drugs a fulfillment of that commitment of Ghana? Absolutely no, it’s in clear violation of the letter and spirit of these very conventions.

The Conventions provide a very clear provision whereby drug use does not need to be criminalized. The 1961 Convention, Article 36 (b) explicitly states “when abusers of drugs have committed such offenses, the Parties may provide, either as an alternative to conviction or punishment or in addition to conviction or punishment, that such individuals shall undergo measures of treatment, education, after-care, rehabilitation and social reintegration in conformity…”.

This is then repeated in the 1971 Convention (Article 22b) and the 1988 Convention (Article 3, Para 4 c and d). Please take note of a commentary on the 1988 Convention “It will be noted that, as with the 1961 and 1971 Conventions, paragraph 2 does not require drug consumption as such to be established as a punishable offense” (UN, 1988). Moreover, the term personal use has not been defined in the International drug Conventions (Marks, 2019). The International Conventions rather criminalizes possession with the intention of trafficking and not possession for personal use.

We should not forget that, imposing on  this very population with criminal records for the use of cannabis or any other drugs have ripple effects, this very population gradually become the fulcrum of any country's economy so why burden them with criminal records for the rest of their lives for committing just minor non-violent drug offenses?

The UNGASS Outcome Document, accordingly, calls on countries to “Encourage the development, adoption, and implementation, with due regard for national, constitutional, legal and administrative systems, of alternative or additional measures with regard to conviction or punishment in cases of an appropriate nature, in accordance with the three international drug control conventions and taking into account, as appropriate, relevant United Nations standards and rules, such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Noncustodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules)” (Paragraph 4j).

Crucially, in the 2019 Ministerial Declaration, all governments also “reiterate our resolve, in the framework of existing policy documents… to promote, consistent with the three international drug control conventions and domestic law, and in accordance with national, constitutional, legal and administrative systems, alternative or additional measures with regard to conviction or punishment in cases of an appropriate nature”.

The new Cross-UN Common Position goes even further and “commit[s] to stepping up our joint efforts and supporting each other… To promote alternatives to conviction and punishment in appropriate cases, including the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use, and to promote the principle of proportionality, to address prison overcrowding and over-incarceration by people accused of drug crimes…

It is with sadness how some CSOs in this country try to use these very instruments to misinterpret the true meaning to Ghanaians.

The World Health Organization recommends an allowable amount of cannabis for therapeutic purposes, about 0.3% THC content and should not be criminalized.

Ghana in effect can allow an amount of 0.3% of cannabis use which according to WHO is not harmful to the human being but strictly for medicinal purposes.

The WHO has further requested the CND Commission on Narcotics Drugs) to reschedule cannabis, why? Because cannabis has medicinal values that are beneficial to humans hence should not be completely banned. (Cannabis is currently a Schedule 1 drug meaning it does not have any medicinal purpose which is not true). Additionally, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017) has confirmed the medicinal value of cannabis.

It has been reported recently that, there is conclusive evidence that cannabis is a drug and it is effective in the treatment of chronic pain, multiple sclerosis-related muscle spasms and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Regarding the link between cannabis and cancer, the Academy found evidence to the effect that, smoking cannabis does not increase the risk of cancer which is often associated with tobacco use such as lung, head and neck cancers. The United Nations human rights mechanisms also recognize that ensuring access to essential medicines is an essential element of the right to health and by ensuring the availability of essential medicines will help to achieve Target 3.b “…provide access to affordable essential medicines…”

Moreover, it is reported that there is a large burden of untreated pain around the world with as many as 80% of the world’s population without access to controlled medicines (UNODC, 2018).

What some of these CSOs in Ghana are doing is just throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians and making everyone believe Ghana will be doing the wrong thing if we decriminalize cannabis and treat drug use as a health issue as well as allowing a certain amount for medicinal purposes like in other countries.

We humbly ask parliament to first and foremost think about the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs and support them and not continue to jail them for their drug use habits.

And Secondly, Parliament has a duty to legislate laws that ensures that people who need cannabis for medicinal purpose readily have access to it to help relieve themselves of severe pain. We cannot continue to criminalize a substance that can relieve pain when we actually have what it takes as a country to embrace that. We will like to urge parliament to also consider declassifying Hemp which is non-psychoactive and allow its growth for industrial and medical purposes.  It is worth noting that the Government of Ghana and Ghana as a whole will be in line to benefit from the generation of taxes over the same period of some $10 million dollars, and that is just one farmer.

Lastly, we will like to draw parliament’s attention to the recent media alert by the INCB in June (2019), where they admonished countries for over-reliance on prohibition of drug use as the means of drug control. In actual fact, the INCB called on countries to institute alternatives to punishment.

Coming home to Africa, the Africa Union (AU) plan of action on drug control 2019-2024 that was recently adopted by ministers of Member States has called on all to ensure, that, drug control mechanisms are comprehensive and, evidence-based. The AU further called on all member states to remove criminal sanctions against people who use drugs and put in place alternatives to punishment for all who use drugs whilst also putting in place as well as adopt and implement harm reduction services for people who use drugs.

These and many other International and regional commitments are things issues Ghana as a country we should be promoting in the current bill and not seeking to digress from them.

We will like to assure all well-meaning Ghanaians that, the debate before parliament is meant to place the health and well- being of its citizens as a matter of priority and not seeking to exacerbate the current problems.

In conclusion, the WHO has recommended that “drug control should not be approached as an objective in itself but as a tool to optimize public health”. We will want to join our voices to the following international organizations;

•            The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

•            Special Rapporteurs on the right to health; on freedom from torture and other ill-treatment; and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;

•            The Committee on the Rights of the Child; and

•            The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

 in recommending the decriminalization of drug use and possession for personal use which will be an important step towards the fulfillment of the rights to health and towards protecting the safety and the well-being of communities.

This is in line with the twelve UN agencies which have jointly recommended review and repealing of laws criminalizing drug use and the possession of drugs for personal use on 27th of June, 2017.  (UNAIDS/UNHCR/UNICEF/WFP/UNDP/UNFPA/UNWomen/ILO/UNESCO/WHO/IOM/OHCHR,)

Consequently, we are only reinforcing the recommendations of all the above committees and agencies. It cannot be the case that all these committees and agencies have ulterior motives.

Ghana Strives for a More Humane Drug Policy


Recently, the government of Ghana proposed the Narcotics Control Commission Bill of 2017 (NCC) to replace the current Narcotic Drugs (Control, Enforcement, and Sanctions) Law of 1990 (PNDCL 236) that criminalizes all drug-related activities including drug use, possession, trade, and production. NCC aims to decriminalise drug consumption in Ghana. The initiative is a recognition of the grave impact on public health of the country’s current drug legislation, which imposes punitive sanctions on those engaged in the consumption, production, and trafficking. However, the ramifications of legal change could be felt beyond the country as Ghana could become a norm entrepreneur in the region for harm reduction policies.

Go to link http://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/GDPOSitAnalysisJune2018Maria-GorettiAne.pdf

In Africa, the issue of Drug use is addressed with contempt and people who use drugs are treated as criminals who have nothing to offer society other than perpetuating crimes. Governments are at the forefront of this criminalization of people who use drugs and treat the victims with the firm arm of the law, yet there has not been any improvement on the issue despite the increasing number of arrests and incarceration of people who are in conflict with the law for drug offences. In an interview with Mrs Maria-Goretti Ane -Loglo, the African Consultant for the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC); we discussed the current Drug policies and what can be done in Africa if indeed governments will want to win the so-called war on drugs. She analyzes Government approach on Drug use in relation to Human Rights and the activities of IDPC in creating awareness and influencing these Government policies to suit both the victims and society at large. Go to link http://glamsquadmagazine.com/maria-goretti-ane-loglo-speaks-on-idpc/

YOUTH PROMISE TO ADVOCATE FOR HUMANE DRUG POLICY IN GHANA

Until recently, the West Africa region has been perceived as only a transit zone of drugs from Latin America to European Countries Markets. This general perception started changing since June 2014 with the release of WACD flagship reports titled ‘’Not just in transit, drugs, the States and Society in West Africa’’.

Early 2013, Kofi Annan (Former UN General Secretary) conveyed the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD) chaired by the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo. The Commission comprised of commissioners from diverse background in West Africa such as politics, civil society, health, security and the judiciary.

After 18 months of research, looking at the evidence, consulting experts from the region and visiting some of the most affected countries and communities in the region, WACD in June 2014, released its flagship report, including a series of evidence-based recommendations for drug policies across the region.

The report shed lights on the impact of drug market in West Africa. According to the report, drug trafficking is a new threat to the development of West Africa. West Africa region is not only a transit zone of drugs from Latin America to Europe but also local production and consumption are on the rise which continues to be a major issue. Organised crime syndicates exist at all levels of society in West Africa and pose a threat to good governance, peace and stability, economic growth and public health in West Africa, a region that has only recently emerged from decades of violent conflict.

A pervasive situation that is corroborated with statics from the United Nations (UN) and the United Nations Organisation on Drug and Crime (UNODC). According to the UNODC, the yearly reports on the world drug problem, the prevalence rate of cannabis uses in West and Central Africa combined (12.4%) is higher than Africa and the global average, 7.5% and 3.9% respectively.

In the above statistics, the youth mostly formed the majority of the affected population. Per the Narcotics Control Board Statistics, the youth in Ghana make up the majority of the drug user community particularly youth in the Junior/ Senior High Schools and tertiary institutions.

It is in light of this worrying situations and also, recognizing the specific needs of young people, and that they are more vulnerable to drug-related harms, the Ghana chapter of the West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) set to increase the level of youth awareness and engagement on drug policy debates and calls for decriminalization and support for harm reduction measures in the region.

The initiative by WADPN-Ghana is also to strengthen youth advocacy in the area of Human Rights and Drug Policy Reform.

In view of these challenges, the West Africa Drug Policy Network, Ghana Chapter (WADPN-Gh) with support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and in collaboration with civil society activist in the country recognized the need to bring together youth, particularly, students, and other stakeholders who are the most vulnerable to the dangers of drugs and the need for drug policy reform to trigger drug and policy reform debates and processes. The forum focused on various approaches to effectively respond to the drug challenges with possible commitments to educating them on the need to contribute to playing advocacy role, building their capacity on understanding Ghana’s  drug policy and how to engage with their institutions to develop effective campus based strategies and not the usual 'Just say No" to drugs and also  engaging policy makers and lobbying for drug policy reforms and finally sensitizing the public and communities about the impacts of drugs on democracy, governance and the society.

Present at the forum was the African consultant for the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) who sensitized the groups about the current state of global drug policy as well as Ghana; and called on them to engender interest in advocacy and research among them. She further explained that, the youth forum was part of an advocacy within the region for evidence -based drug policy that is grounded on public health and human rights and to promote the active participation of young people in drug policy development by building the capacity of youth organizations to advocate for the rights of vulnerable people who use drugs.

Mrs. Loglo further called on the youth to join the advocacy platform for Humane Drug Policy for people suffering from problematic drug use and the need to engage in smart drug prevention programmes.

At the end of the program, the participants committed to a series of actions within their own communities including raising awareness of the rights of people who use drugs, involving community leaders, organizing social and health campaigns on drug use and facilitating activities in schools with teachers and students.

Leaders from the various youth groups pledged to called on the relevant authorities to promote the rights and inclusion of people who use drugs including establishing links between prisons, health services and civil society to ensure follow ups and continuation of services for people who use drugs after release from prison.

The day also saw the inauguration and birth of Youth Rise for Drug Policy Reform Ghana, a youth movement whose aim is to mobilize young people concerned with the impact of drugs and drug policies on individuals, families and communities in Ghana.