Local growers are very angry about the government's decision.
The move comes as a shock to many people, especially unemployed young. Dzeka Edwin Fon, a young graduate who is spearheading a group fighting for the legalisation of cannabis cultivation in north-west province, says the growing of the plant could be a lucrative business for unemployed young people. He suggests that officials at the Health Ministry should supervise the cultivation of the drug in Cameroon - and so control the amount grown and provided to the hospitals. Many people in the north-west of the country know and accept that cannabis is grown there. It is already being used in the production of a hair lotion popular with Cameroonian women.