The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has issued a public alert over the circulation of illicit drugs being sold as medicinal cannabis.
The agency said credible intelligence led to the arrest of a 28-year-old suspect on November 1, 2025, at 2 Akala Street, Idi Oro, Mushin, Lagos.
A statement released on Wednesday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said Salisu was allegedly packaging and distributing synthetic and high-potency cannabis strains in designer pouches and cups labelled as medicinal cannabis.
He said 16.4 kilograms of substances, including strains identified as Colorado, Arizona, Canadian Loud and Ghana Loud, were recovered from the location.
He warned that the seized products, marketed as medicinal cannabis, were instead dangerous and highly potent psychoactive substances.
Babafemi said, “The Agency therefore wishes to warn Nigerians, especially the youth, that these so-called medicinal products are, in reality, adulterated and highly potent strains of dangerous psychoactive substances, and are not the regulated, safe pharmaceutical preparations they are purported to be.
Rather than the purported medicinal cannabis in the designer pouches and cups, the strains are highly addictive and pose a significant, immediate threat to public health and safety because they are associated with severe mental health issues, including psychosis, acute anxiety, paranoia, and other long-term cognitive impairments, especially among young people.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), said the suspects were exploiting public interest in medicinal cannabis to sell illegal drugs.
He noted that cannabis remains prohibited in Nigeria.
” The criminal elements behind this deceit are only exploiting the global conversation around medicinal cannabis to push their illicit and life-destroying products into our communities. Cannabis remains a prohibited substance in Nigeria, and as such, any product being sold locally under the guise of ‘medicinal cannabis’ is not only fake, but also dangerous and illegal, ” Marwa was quoted as saying.
He urged Nigerians, particularly young people, not to be swayed by packaging or health claims and encouraged the public to report anyone involved in the distribution of such products to the nearest NDLEA office
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