Although South Africa accounts for a tiny percentage of global cannabis trade, it is an important part of the bigger picture, with cannabis markets in Europe, the UK, Israel and Australia. Cannabiz Africa reports on international developments affecting the African cannabis and hemp sector as well as consumer market trends of interest to South African operators.
Paarl-based Afriplex has repositioned itself as an Afrobotanical extraction specialist and is launching its new flagship product, KannaSpectrum, in Las Vegas this week. KannaSpectrum is Afriplex’s standardized extract from the indigenous kanna plant and is aimed at processors of products that promote calmness and wellbeing.
Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT) Prof David Katerere has been appointed to the 2026/7 Board of Directors of the Federation of International Hemp Organizations (FIHO). TUT says this places African research expertise at the centre of discussions shaping the global hemp industry.
Africa is one of the six most important geographic locations for the world’s cannabis landraces which have evolved through natural selection in specific areas over centuries. They are invaluable to our understanding of the genetics of today’s commercial strains.
Bedrocan’s Dutch entities have officially been declared bankrupt, leaving stocks of life-saving medicinal cannabis in the hands of court-appointed administrators who cannot release them.
88% of Americans support cannabis legalization, but only 53% live in states where consumption is legal. This has impacted retail patterns. Take the tiny town of New Buffalo, Michigan: it sells more cannabis than the whole of LA – because of its ease of access to neighbouring Illinois and Indiana where prohibition remains.
In what must be one of the most bizarre regulatory developments, the US hemp industry is going to be decimated by a ban on hemp products due to take effect in December. Whitney Economics warns that the clampdown on hemp-derived THC products will cause about 68% of hemp businesses to fold.
Veteran medical cannabis campaigner Alice O’Leary Randall is the widow of the man who’s case saw the term ‘medical marijuana’ being used for the first time. Now, 50 years later, she takes a dim view of medical cannabis rescheduling in the US, which in her words is “batshit crazy’”
Humans began regularly using psychoactive substances around the same time as they began to domesticate plants. This has emerged from dental analysis of human remains found in Indonesia, dating back around 13 000 years, which show wear-and-tear associated with the consistent chewing mind-altering betel nuts.
The massive blast at Solos Extracts at Sand Springs claimed the lives of two workers and damaged 25 buildings, and was likely triggered by an ‘active, unsafe, and unauthorized manufacturing event’ involving volatile solvents like liquid propane and butane. The facility owner is facing murder charges because it was allegedly operating illegally.
Solvents used in the cannabis extraction process are highly flammable and demand to be treated with respect. That’s what went wrong in Oklahoma says Choctaw CEO Justin Wood. He says the key to preventative safety in processing facilities is controlling ignition sources and preventing gases from reaching high concentrations.
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