WHY IT MATTERS: For patients and clinicians globally, Ghana’s regulated medicinal cannabis program signals a growing international consensus that cannabis research deserves a legitimate scientific framework, which could accelerate cross-border data sharing and strengthen the overall evidence base for cannabis-based treatments. CLINICAL OVERVIEW: Ghana’s formal entry into medicinal cannabis programming represents a significant shift for West Africa, where regulatory frameworks for cannabis-based medicine have historically been absent or prohibitive. Structured research programs allow countries to generate population-specific clinical data, which is critical given that most existing evidence comes from Western or Israeli cohorts that may not reflect genetic, dietary, or disease-burden differences in sub-Saharan African populations.