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.
Joao Duartte (pictured here), Business Developer at Decibel Engineered Systems in Almada, Portugal says Europe should take note of the hard lessons from the US cannabis industry – namely oversupply kills markets, price dropping bankrupts companies and fragmentation destroys scalability.
This is the statement issued by the White House on 18 December 2025, accepting the medical benefits of cannabis and rescheduling its classification as a less dangerous drug. Although this does not allow federal legalization, the executive order is a deeply significant step in US cannabis reform.
Ego has become the barricade that prevents cannabis from realizing its full potential. Infighting among growers, scientists, and newcomers only strengthens the architects of exclusion, leaving us fractured from within. Guest columnist Lee Hymers writes that perhaps a dose of humility is needed all round.
Leading international cannabis consultancy Prohibition Partners says the European medical cannabis market is maturing at speed, with providers focused on return on investment and a shift in marketing strategies. Cannabis is already well-known as an ‘alternative medicine’, but now marketing departments are looking at repositioning it as part of a cannabis ‘standardized healthcare’ package.
Internationally, the cannabis industry is likely to see further advances in telemedicine as the main channel to market for medical cannabis in the year ahead, while Canada is likely to assert its leadership on the world stage. But watch out for new restrictrions kicking in in new markets and possible oversupply in 2026 – and keep an eye on Thailand
During 2025 over 4 000 scientific papers on cannabis were published, most with a focus on the therapeutic benefits of the plant. Advocacy group NORML says there is enough of an evidence base for policy-makers to start working with what we know about the plant instead of what we don’t know.
Canada is a global leader in cannabis but it is not doing enough to leverage this reputation into a meaningful tourism strategy. The main problem is that current regulations focus on restricting public access, whereas a canna-tourism approach would mean flipping that idea on its head.
The US hemp industry faces a US$30 billion shake-up, its biggest since 2018. Effective 13 November 2025, Congress fundamentally rewrote the laws governing hemp in America, passing sweeping restrictions on hemp-derived THC products.
Jamaica is still reeling in the wake of Hurricane Melissa which all but destroyed the island’s cannabis industry. The Caribbean nation that popularized cannabis worldwide through reggae music, is now facing a critical shortage of flower as most cultivation facilities have been destroyed.
Aroma is a key test of cannabis quality yet there is no shared international vocabulary in this regard. A US Study has suggested that the smell of cannabis can be reduced to four distinct profiles that offer an alternative way than to differentiate according to terpenes.
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