Tia Ramfate: Involve Communities in Creating a Truly African Cannabis Framework
Soweto Cannabis Association founder Tia Ramfate (pictured here) says community participation is essential in developing a uniquely African cannabis framework. She said South Africa could teach the world how to create a people-centric regulatory regime that was not locked into First World rules.
Gauteng Health Dept Warns of Sharp Increase in Drug-Induced Psychosis Among Youth
Younger people are particularly vulnerable to developing pscychosis that have life-long mental health implications. Gauteng has warned that substance abuse among the youth has led to a sharp increase in hospital admissions for treating drug-related disorders.
Swiss Cannabis Guru Urges Morocco to Legalize General Adult Use Consumption
Leading Swiss cannabis expert Paul-Lukas Good has urged Morocco to go take its cannabis policies to a logical conclusion and legalize general adult use consumption. He said the Kingdom had a sound cannabis reform trajectory but would not realise its true potential by developing only industrial and medical cannabis.
US Has Collected US$28 Billion in Cannabis Tax Revenue Since Legalization Began
Forbes Magazine reports that US states that have legalized recreational cannabis have collected more than $28 billion in tax revenue over the past roughly 12 years.
Dr Shiksha Gallow: Wild and Unregulated Cannabis Retail ‘Grey Zone’ is a Public Health Risk
South African medical cannabis expert Dr Shiksha Gallow has warned that the unbridled explosion of the cannabis retail ‘Grey Zone’ is a public health risk. She said in the absence of regulations, consumers were faced with increasing harm from unscrupulous drug dealers.
Ricky Stone: Put Outdoor Cultivation at the Centre of a New Regulatory System
South Africa should consider regulations that make outdoor growing the default growing regime, not indoor. That’s the radical view of veteran Eastern Cape cannabis lawyer, Ricky Stone, who told ICS 2026 that it was a myth that medical cannabis could only be cultivated under controlled conditions.
Beau Whitney: Press the Cannabis Regulatory Reset Button at the UN Level
Worldwide, one of the deepest problems in trying to regulate cannabis is that it is being defined in pharmaceutical terms and not recognized as a plant medicine. This will only be fixed at a United Nations level says leading cannabis economist Beau Whitney, in order to create a meaningful framework for regulation.
Global South Needs to Set Up its Own Cannabis Trade Networks to Avoid the Trap of Canna-Colonialism
Africa and other developing cannabis economies need to collaborate and create their own markets. They need to do this to avoid falling into the trap of canna-colonialism, whereby their regulatory systems are designed to serve European medical cannabis interests instead of their own.
UN Failing in its Mandate as War Against Drugs Turns into War Against Human Rights
The release of the World Drug Report has highlighted how the war on drugs has become a war on human rights and how the United Nations has failed to live up to its mandate. Punitive responses to drug taking are creating more harms and not providing any solutions.
Bath University Study: Legalizing Cannabis Doesn’t Drive Up Usage, But Commercialization Does
Decriminalising the possession of cannabis or strictly regulating access to the drug do not appear to drive up usage, but when the drug is sold commercially the number of users increases and more mental health problems are seen, a UK academic review has found.