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.
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.
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.
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.
Cannabis remains the most commonly consumed illicit drug in Europe yet the public impact of the evolving market is still unclear. That’s according to the European Drug Report 2026 which estimates that 25 million European adults (8,7% of the population) used cannabis in the last year.
Toronto cannabis shop Cosmic Charlies has been ordered by FIFA to destroy the world-cup-shaped bongs on sale on the grounds of copyright infringement. Does Cosmic Charlies care? No, because they’re riding high on the publicity.
International cannabis thought leaders from across the world are to descend on Cape Town at the end of the month for ICS 2026. Organizer Sean Hocking tells Cannabiz Africa that the Back to Basics theme is aimed at breaking North American and European dominance in determining the world’s cannabis regulatory systems.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup marks the first time that part of the tournament will be held in a locale where cannabis is legal. Although fans can’t light up at the matches hosted in Canada, the potential for increased foot traffic has cannabis dispensaries excited and lawyers advising shops on how to avoid a legal red card.
Japan’s cannabis regime allows for hemp-derived CBD and CBG products, but anything to do with THC is a no-no. Now the Japanese government has banned the compound cannabinol (CBN) after it has been discovered to have hallucinatory properties during animal testing.
Global cannabis prices are steadily declining as the market matures and production around the world ramps up. A new analysis says price compression is a sign of market maturity, not failure, but warns exporters to be careful of what revenue assumptions they make as base-line values still need to be established.
Why are Gen Z’ers consuming cannabis? Well, for handling family situations, going on a date or before a work meeting or exam. And yes, also to enhance creativity, reduce stress and improve performance. This is according to a new study which also found that 28% of young American adults are using daily.
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