Although Lesotho legalized cannabis exports in 2018, Africa has been a slow starter in joining the ranks of those countries pushing for reform and regulated markets. Although fewer than a quarter of the continent’s countries have partially legalized cannabis, primarily medical cannabis for export and industrial hemp, Africa has the potential to be a future powerhouse on the international cannabis stage. Stay in the loop with all the news, policy, legislative, regulatory and market developments with Cannabiz Africa, your reliable content guide to the African cannabis environment.
The Rastafarian quest to have their cannabis rights recognized is becoming a pan-African phenomenon. Rastas in Kenya are challenging the country’s cannabis prohibition laws, following a strategy of activism developed in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. However, as Africa Editor John Makoni reports, they are facing organized resistance.
Moroccan animal scientists believe processed cannabis sativa residue could boost the Kingdom’s poultry industry with a substitute for antibiotics that would also produce healthier meat. An agreement has been signed between Morocco’s cannabis regulator and the country’s leading veterinary science institute to begin scalable feasibility studies .
King Mohammed IV (pictured here) has broken ranks with other Muslim countries in choosing to see no contradiction between the partial legalization of cannabis and the teachings of the Quran. The Moroccan leader has put the Kingdom on a course of leveraging its cannabis history and its black market dominance into the mainstream.
The driver accused of transporting 52 kg of cannabis in Namibia’s biggest ever cannabis bust has been released on N$50 000 bail after he claimed he was duped into transporting the consignment, which he thought was meat, His two co-accused , South African David van der Linden and farm manager Armand Schultz (pictured here) remain in custody until the legal proceedings continue in the new year.
Ghana’s leading hemp activist organization, Hempire Agric Ghana (HAG) is to take up the shock hemp licensing fee issue with Parliament. HAG’s Nana Kwaku Agyemang (pictured here) says the proposed fees, the most expensive in the world, are unrealistic and exclusionary and out of kilter with the market.
Local farmers will have to cough up big time if they have hopes of participating in the West African country’s fledgling hemp sector. The licensing structure and proposed fees for the hemp sector are a slap in the face for small-scale farmers as they are heavily geared towards multinationals able to afford the dollar-denominated fees and attendant taxes.
A constitutional challenge by the Rastafari Society of Kenya pits religious freedom against decades-old narcotics laws, forcing a national debate on the future of cannabis. A High Court decision, expected in 2026, could have significant cultural and economic implications for the nation.
Namibia’s government has made a ground-breaking admission in court papers that the prohibition of cannabis cannot be justified on scientific, moral or rational grounds. The Attorney General has filed a report with the Windhoek High Court opposing the Ganja Users of Namibia’s application to have cannabis prohibition laws overturned saying its not up to the courts to decide cannabis policy, but the executive.
The future of Zimbabwean cannabis lies beyond cultivation, it’s about adding value. This is the view of Thathokuhle Farm owner Mike Querl (pictured here), who recently hosted a visit by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Anxious Masuka. Dr Masuka echoed that view saying Zimbabwe was entering a new phase of industrialization and beneficiating raw material was part of the strategy.
Botswana Acting Lands and Agriculture Minister Dr Edwin Dikoloti (pictured here) has announced an ambitious plan targeting an output of 42 000 tons of cannabis by 2029, for both industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis, during a Public Investment Programme (PIP) presentation.
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