The Chief Executive of the Chamber of Cannabis Industry, Mark G. Darko, has assured Ghanaians that legal cannabis cultivation can benefit both the economy and the environment, countering fears that the sector could replicate the destruction associated with illegal gold mining.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey on Monday, February 16, 2026, , Darko reframed concerns around cannabis by comparing it to gold.
“Even for gold, we cannot say that it’s a curse in its entirety,” he said, noting that “we made $20 billion, that’s about 30% of our GDP size, from gold into our economy.”
He clarified that the real issue with gold has always been illegality and mismanagement. “The problem with gold has to do with illegal mining, which we call, the one we call Galamsey, isn’t it?” he emphasized, separating the resource itself from the destructive practices surrounding it.
Acknowledging the environmental damage caused by illegal miners, Darko pointed out the economic benefits of the sector.
“If you balance the disadvantages with the advantages, you see that our economy is stable now also because of that much injection of capital made from the gold industry into it,” he explained.
Highlighting cannabis’ environmental advantages, he said, “Now, the difference between gold and cannabis is that when gold miners are destroying the soil, cannabis growers are rather repairing it.” He stressed the plant’s phytoremediation properties, adding, “Cannabis has the ability to clean the soil, like I said, because of its phytoremediation ability.”
He also suggested that cannabis cultivation could restore lands damaged by illegal mining. “So even in lands where the gold miners unfortunately have destroyed our water bodies, go plant cannabis there. Cannabis will clean the soil,” he asserted.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Bilkiss Abdul Majiid
