Page 75 - Daggabay Magazine Issue 9

Fields of Green for ALL • Collectively Reforming South African Cannabis Laws

African Neighbours for the final product to be used as an Active
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Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) .
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In 2017, Lesotho became the first African nation
to issue licences permitting the cultivation of There is conflicting information about the
Cannabis for medicinal and research purposes, cost and entry requirements of licensing, all of
followed by Zimbabwe in 2018, Uganda in 2019 which exclude locals due to the high costs of
and Malawi in 2020. Cannabis remains illegal for “compliance” i.e. security measures or sterile
the citizens of these countries and this means that packaging rooms. While we understand the strict
Basotho, Zimbabwean,Ugandan and Malawian regulations required for producing registered
people are not allowed to use, possess or cultivate medicine, this should not be the only avenue,
Cannabis, nor are they allowed to access Cannabis as there are too many barriers to entry for local
products for their own benefit, whether for cultivators and traders.
industrial, traditional, religious, medicinal or There are grey areas with regard to the trade
adult use.
and export of the final product. Neither African
Despite the granting of these medical and country mentioned above has regulations in place
research cultivation licences in these countries, to allow its own citizens to trade in or consume
we remain sceptical as to the benefits to the local Cannabis. This means there is a lost opportunity in
population. For instance: not allowing individuals and SMEs to benefit from
the global Cannabis movement.
• Lesotho citizens continue to be arrested on
the street and in their homes whilst large In 2020, unfortunately not much has changed,
quantities of Cannabis cross the border every besides the fact that a few more countries
day into South Africa . have “legalised” Cannabis under a medicinal
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• In Zimbabwe, unlicensed growing or framework, such as Rwanda, Ghana and Zambia.
possession could carry a 12-year prison Global demand for landrace strains has made
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sentence. African Cannabis genetics extremely valuable to

Employment and community-based opportunities seed breeders. Strains that have been grown for
for locals are limited due to the fact that generations in all parts of Africa are now being
GMP -certified grow facilities are often highly exported across the world, most often with no
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automated, thus reducing the need for physical benefit to the local communities who have been
labour. GMP certifications are required in order tending these genetics for generations.

CANNABIS IN SOUTH AFRICA • THE PEOPLE’S PLANT • A Full-Spectrum Manifesto For Policy Reform 31