PROMOTING 'WEE' IN GHANA?

As the nation struggles to come to terms with the cocaine scandal which has
rocked her in recent times, new trends for the promotion of another
narcotic drug, Indian hemp, are beginning to unfold.

Within the last few weeks some unscrupulous business entities have begun
promoting Indian hemp, popularly referred to as 'Wee', through the use of
car stickers and arm bands.

Interestingly, the car stickers with the 'wee' leaves have the caption
'Weed of Wisdom' boldly written beneath them, while the arm bands come in
the Red, Gold and Green colours with the 'wee' plant or leaves boldly
embossed in black on the yellow colour. The reference to the hemp as the
'Weed of Wisdom' according to those who patronize it, is to justify the age
old belief that its use was biblical since the legendary King Solomon used
it so much so that after his death the weed was planted on his tomb to give
him permanent supply.

Wittingly, the black leaves have been embossed on the yellow colour so that
one might easily mistake it for the black star in our national colours or
paraphernalia of the national soccer team, Black Stars.

Research has shown that people only get themselves associated or aligned
with a trend, fashion, anything in vogue; philosophy or ideology that they
believe in and, therefore, it would be right to draw the conclusion that
those who buy these stickers and post them on their vehicles are ardent
patrons of this so-called 'Weed of Wisdom.'

This phenomenon is, however, worrying as it runs counter to the fight
against the use of such drugs, especially among the student population who
are most vulnerable to these vices in society.

What makes this new trend more dangerous is that the tag put on the hemp as
'Weed of Wisdom' could go to give credence to the misleading claim that it
enhances ability to study and boosts one's confidence.

The sale of these arm bands is surprisingly being done by street hawkers in
traffic with the boys virtually convincing innocent travellers to buy this
'Weed of Wisdom.'

It has now also become fashionable to see people wearing colourful arm
bands, especially in the national flag colours, in the wake of the recent
surge in patriotism, following the Black Stars' exploits at the recent
World Cup tournament in Germany.

In the current state of free market economy, business entities are quick to
jump at any flourishing business and it would not be surprising to see that
what has just started on this small note, if not checked, could become a
big business for both traders on the market and those on the streets.