Peeping into the Sacralisation of Marijuana in Urban Slums A Study of Muslim Youth in Maamobi, Ghana
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Keywords
Marijuana, Sacralisation, Criminalisation, Ghana, Muslim Youth, Colonialism
Abstract
The smoking of marijuana is considered a criminal act in many parts of the world. In Ghana, marijuana is a criminalized substance. However, the disclosure by the Narcotic Drugs Control Board (NACOB) that Ghana places first and third in the consumption of marijuana in Africa and the world respectively has sustained the debate about the criminalization of the substance. The arrest and prosecution of a popular hip-hop musician, Emmanuel Botchwey, for publicly smoking marijuana has further deepened the debate. This essay seeks to contribute to the debate on the use of marijuana in urban slums, focusing on the sacralisation of marijuana by Muslim youth in Maamobi. The paper argues that, while the consumption of marijuana pre-dates colonialism, the criminalization of the substance in Ghana is a recent phenomenon, largely influenced by the colonialists’ conceptualization of marijuana as a substance that is only smoked for recreational purposes.
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