A law at war with itself: How Ghana’s drug policy is failing its public health mission

When Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission Act (Act 1019) was passed in 2020, it was celebrated as a landmark piece of legislation. It promised a revolution in drug policy—a shift from the handcuffs of the past to the healing hands of public health. Yet, approaching six years later, a fundamental paradox lies at its core. While the law speaks the language of rehabilitation, its heart still beats with the pulse of prohibition.

The Act’s stated goals are progressive: to establish a dedicated rehabilitation fund and prioritize treatment and harm reduction over pure enforcement for low-level drug offences. But by attempting to be both a healer and a jailer, Act 1019 has created a legal paradox that traps the very people it claims to rescue. The Act's punitive core remains firmly in place, creating a framework that is fundamentally at odds with its own health-focused mission.

The preliminary findings of the 2025 Integrated Bio-Behavioral Survey (IBBS) provide stark evidence that "draconian" practices persist and are costing lives. It is a law in conflict with itself, and the most vulnerable are paying the price. As the distinguished drug policy scholar Dr. Joanne Csete observed, "Plainly, there is a chasm into which policies fall on the way from the rhetoric to the reality”.