Page 92 - Daggabay Magazine Issue 9

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

• Packaging material facilities. Similar to the free-range food movement,
Serious consideration needs to be given to the the Cannabis industry can adopt “green” growing
development of biodegradeable packaging certifications which can create a framework
for Cannabis. This is an area with significant to grow Cannabis in a sustainable way from an
potential within South Africa’s emerging energy and environmental perspective. Coupled
industrial Cannabis sector. with the increased demand for African landrace
Cannabis products, South African Cannabis,
The South African Cannabis industry has grown sustainably, can become a valuable
an opportunity to be a leader in sustainable commodity in the global market. But first we need
cultivation techniques. We have the advantage of to get our own house in order.
growing Cannabis outdoors in the sun, without
the need for energy intensive indoor grow

4.2 Policy Coherence:

Aligning With Relevant, Pre-existing Policies

Laws and regulations must be clear and alcohol and tobacco, but Cannabis must not
provide a degree of certainty. A legal Cannabis be regulated in any manner that is harsher
framework should seek normalisation and align than these two, more harmful, substances;
with agricultural, environmental, indigenous, • Cannabis cannot be used in family disputes
healthcare, tobacco, alcohol and other pre-existing or custody battles, no more than the use of
policies, strictly according to relevance and scale alcohol or tobacco can be used under these
of harms. Regulations must respect constitutional circumstances;
rights, and be consistent with other policies (e.g. • evidence of HaRm must be central to all
alcohol and tobacco) and based on evidence from regulations. Given the history of Cannabis
the judgments handed down by the courts.
prohibition and the resultant stigmatisation
A highly-referenced study which ranked 20 drugs and misinformation, regulators have a
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based on multiple criteria and factors of harm, responsibility to craft rational and evidence-
found that Cannabis is less harmful than both based regulations;
alcohol and tobacco. One of the authors of this • no exceptional over-regulatory measures
study, Professor David Nutt, was one of the expert (i.e. licence based systems) should be
witnesses for The Trial of the Plant and a speaker implemented, as these create barriers to entry,
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at Fields of Green for ALL’s Clinical Cannabis unnecessary administration and a gateway to
Convention in 2017 . Professor Nutt insists that corruption. Regular company registration with
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science must be put at the heart of drug policy. terms and conditions specific to the Cannabis
On the basis of Professor Nutt and his team’s industry must be the only prerequisite to
research findings, it is irrational to regulate this access the legal market, the only exception
plant in a harsher manner than either alcohol being Cannabis produced for, and claiming to
or tobacco. be, medicine or making specific therapeutic
claims;
This means that Cannabis should be normalised
in society, and, for instance: • similarly, Cannabis regulations must be
“tested” against the current laws and
• Because Cannabis is less harmful than regulations on agriculture, indigenous or rural
alcohol and tobacco, it should be regulated farmers rights, healthcare and other pre-
accordingly: all Cannabis regulations must be existing policies.
“tested” against the current laws regulating

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