The cannabis legalization debate is gathering momentum in Namibia, despite the recent Windhoek High Court Ruling that dismissed the Ganja Users of Namibia (GUN) bid to overturn the country’s prohibition law. Judge rational was that cannabis legalization was a policy issue and should rather be handled by the government rather than the courts.
Namibia’s AG’s office says the State Law Review Commission is handling the matter, but until then cannabis remains an illegal narcotic. The ruling prompted GUN to form a new political party to push for broader economic reform beyond cannabis legalization.
So what do Namibians make of this all. The most recent survey on cannabis attitudes was conducted as part of a broader survey by Afrobarometer in 2024, found that 42,3% of Namibians favoured general adult use legalization, but did not provide a breakdown of how many respondents were unsure or strongly opposed.
What was clear is that attitudes varied sharply within Namibia’s 14 regions and ethnic groups: 82% of respondents in Caprivi favoured legalization, while only 5% of the ‘nearby’ Ohangwena District on the Angolan border, did.
The statistics are worth noting in the context of the 9 July 2026 Windhoek High Court judgment that threw out a lawsuit by Ganja Users of Namibia (GUN) to have cannabis decriminalised in the country; the court sided with government’s prohibitive stance to keep a longstanding ban in place, citing supposed harms to users and society.
-The Afrobarometer Survey by Cirrus Survey Warehouse Namibia conducted nationally in 2024 found more than four in 10 Namibians (42.3%) take regulated adult use as a good thing.
-The national survey polled approval levels by region, ethnicity, age, education level and sex (men vs women). Interviewees had to state whether adult cannabis was “always justified”, “sometimes justified” or “never justified”.
-Conversely, numerous studies have found alcohol to be comparatively more harmful; Namibia is a high-ranking alcohol consumption country, with the United Nations placing it among Africa’s highest per capita alcohol consuming states. Estimates show alcohol to be responsible for over 50% of serious and fatal road accidents in some regions.
-Namibian pro-cannabis activist Reon Gunther Helmuth Bezuidenhout cites such scientific studies to argue regulated cannabis reform is beneficial to heath and medicine and is safer and cheaper than total prohibition. Prohibition is costly to convicted persons and to the state as large portions of criminal justice budgets go towards arrests, prosecution and correctional services. He also slates continuing criminalisation as bad for quality control and increasing harm. G
UN President Brian Jaftha also criticises criminalisation for denying poor indigenous communities food rights. They cannot grow a precious food source under current laws. Hemp seed is very rich in nutrition.
-The survey found Caprivians (82%) as the ethnic group most in favour of legalisation and Hardap (69%)as the region where legalisation was most popular.
-Harmonised statistics indicate Zambezi has the most people in favour of legalisation. This is because the most approving ethnic group, Caprivians (82%) are largely concentrated in Zambezi region, although overall, the region polls third (67%), behind Hardap at 69% and //Kharas (68%). Ohangwena (5%) was found to be the least supportive.
-The ethnicity breakdown is as follows: Caprivians (82%),Nama (69%), Subia (63%), Afrikaner (56%), Herero (55%), Kavango (52%) and Baster (50%).
-Males (40%) were more likely to endorse adult use than women (37%). There are on average 93 females for every 100 males in Namibia.
-Education levels impact results substantially. Least approving Ohangwena’s literacy rate of 86% was well below national average (89%). Highest approving Hardap’s literacy rate was at a 91% high.Furthermore, 46% of university degree holders were more likely to favour adult use compared to 34% primary education-level respondents.
-Economically-active groups also score highly on approval; 46% of 26-35 year-olds stated marijuana use can be justified, followed by 18-25s (40%) and 37% for 36-45 year-olds.
-To summarise, regional approval ratings were as follows: Hardap (69%), //Kharas (68%), Zambezi (67%), Omaheke (59%), Otjozondjupa (52%), Khomas (48%), Kavango East (39%), Kavango West (57%) , Kunene (43%), Omusati (28%), Erongo (27%), Oshikoto (20%), Oshana (10%) and Ohangwena (5%). This results in the 42.3% median.
-The results vindicate arguments by the country’s pro-cannabis lobby that Namibians are generally in favour of adult cannabis use but that stigmatisation and negative campaigning by community leaders amongst others, skew the debate in favour of continuing prohibition.
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