CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS Cabinet Updated on Cannabis Master Plan; DALRRD Says It Will Provide Industrial Cannabis Seeds From Next Year A South African cabinet statement issued on 13 March 2024 said it received a “progress report” on the development of the cannabis sector but was thin on the details. Cannabiz Africa 20 March 2024 at 12:00:00 Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Read SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS THC Settles Appeal Bid Out of Court, Status of Private Clubs Remains Uncertain The Haze Club has reached an out-of court settlement with the Justice Department on its appeal court application to have private cannabis clubs legally recognized. The details of the settlement are confidential and in the absence of a court ruling, the legal status of cannabis clubs remains uncertain. Cannabiz Africa 17 November 2024 at 08:00:00 What must have come as a huge relief for THC director Neil Lidell and his co-accused Ben van Houten, is something of a disappointment to the rest of the cannabis industry. The issue at hand is the out of court settlement reached between Lidell’s lawyers and the State which led to his decision to withdraw his application to the Supreme Court of Appeal which was due to have been heard next Tuesday, 19 November 2024. The Haze Club (THC) lawyer Paul Michael Keichel told Cannabis Africa on 14 November 2024: “ THC’s appeal was withdrawn yesterday after an agreement was reached between the Appellants and the State Respondents. The terms of that agreement are necessarily confidential. ” Each party was ordered to pay its own costs. Keichel has so far not responded to questions as to what implications the settlement has for other private cannabis clubs. The SCA ruling had been eagerly awaited by private cannabis clubs who are seeking final legal certainty on their status. This means they continue to exist in a ‘grey zone’. Read the brief settlement ruling here. Fields of Green for All , which was amicus curiae (an interested party) in the matter, said it had received notice of the appellants withdrawal of their SCA appeal. “What we do know is that the case is now complete and we do not get further clarification on the legality of Dagga Private Clubs. We also know that the reasons for the settlement were personal but probably involved dropping of the criminal charges” said FGFA director Myrtle Clarke. This is a developing story. # Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Read SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS Cannabis, Labour Law, African Traditions and PetroSA Collide; Costs Mfundo Marasi His Job A PetroSA telecoms technician who was suspended after cannabis was detected in his blood when he returned from a traditional healer training programme, has lost his bid to have the state-owned company’s alcohol and substance abuse policy reviewed. News24 4 July 2023 at 09:00:00 Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Read SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS Cannabis Mass Action Committee: Make Your Voice Heard Tomorrow at CT and Pta Public Protests The Cannabis Mass Action Committee is emerging as the voice of non-government stakeholders in the cannabis industry. Cannabis organizations have cast their differences aside to take on the No 1 obstacle to implementing Government's National Cannabis Master Plan. And that is Government itself! Cannabiz Africa 16 September 2022 at 09:30:00 Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Read SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

Spanish Police Open Fraud Investigation into JuicyFields The criminal investigation follows class action by an estimated 4 500 Spanish investors, some of whom invested up to 200 000 Euros each. Yahoo News/AFP 22/09/26, 13:00 Spain's top criminal court has opened a fraud investigation into the JuicyFields medicinal cannabis investment platform which allegedly swindled people around the world of millions of euros. The Spanish National Court opened its probe into JuicyFields on 15 September 2022 after a lawsuit filed by nearly 1,200 investors in July 2022, according to AFP. Established in 2020, JuicyFields offered investors – who it called "e-growers" – the chance to profit from the cultivation, harvesting and sale of legal cannabis plants, promising returns of up to 66 percent. But the Amsterdam-based company suddenly stopped operations in mid-July, froze cash withdrawals and vanished from the internet, investors allege. Losses of up to €200,000 for certain individuals The class action lawsuit accuses JuicyFields of operating like a Ponzi scheme, in which early investors are paid out of deposits made by later investors. It estimates that there are nearly 4,500 victims in Spain alone, who each lost an average of €6,500. Some individuals lost as much as €200,000. The minimum investment was €50, and the money could be deposited and withdrawn via bank transfer or cryptocurrencies. The company sought to impress investors by hiring social media influencers and displaying luxury cars at trade shows as a sign of its success. At its height, JuicyFields claimed to have 500,000 investors. On its website, the company says: "We welcome continued investigations by the authorities so that the truth can ultimately reach everyone’s ears and eyes. "In the meantime, we have put a plan into action that will allow us to generate income with our own money with a view on at least repaying all the existing investors who have money tied up in the bank accounts." It is not clear whether the cannabis plants listed in virtual greenhouses on the company's online platform ever really existed, according to journalists who have looked into its operations. French class-action suit This is believed to be the first class-action lawsuit against JuicyFields, which according to media investigations scammed investors around the world. A group on mobile messaging service Telegram in France for people who want to take legal action against JuicyFields has over 1,600 members. Several members say they have filed individual lawsuits against JuicyFields. A class-action lawsuit is also expected to be filed in France against the firm. Many investors are seeking to profit from the legal cannabis industry, where opportunities have arisen as more and more countries approve the plant for medical or recreational use. (Yahoo News with AFP) # INTERNATIONAL BREAKING NEWS PREVIOUS NEXT Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS Drug Dealers Offer Special Discounts to Commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s Passing Drug sellers in the UK were keen to let their customers know they were saddened by the Queen’s death, but also that they were willing and able to wipe away the tears of grief and sell as much drugs as possible. Max Daly, Vice Worldwide News 10 September 2022 at 08:00:00 Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Read SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy Calls for Medical Cannabis Legalization to Deal With The Trauma of War One of South Africa’s poorest municipalities is pinning some of its development hopes on cannabis. Nyandeni in the Eastern Cape recently hosted a development summit where its mayor said the cannabis industry alone could create many jobs if it could be formalized. Cannabiz Africa/Luva Cataka, News 24 23/09/18, 10:00  News24 reports that Nyandeni Local Municipality mayor, Viwe Ndamase, told an investor summit held at Dan’s Country Lodge outside Mthatha on 7 and 8 September 2023 that the Eastern Cape area held potential for cannabis but that a regulatory framework needed to be put in place. “Once we get investors coming to our space there will be employment opportunities for our people. If you look at the cannabis industry alone, it has the potential to create several job opportunities if it can be formalised,” said Ndamase. The municipality sold itself as a stable municipality at both political and administrative levels during the summit, with Ndamase saying this was demonstrated by the unqualified audit outcomes the municipality achieved for six consecutive years. It further pitched itself as an investment destination of choice with investment opportunities in property development, tourism, small-scale manufacturing, oceans economy and agriculture, agro-processing, and forestry. Eastern Cape Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko, who delivered a keynote speech at the summit, said he expected the investment summit’s outcomes to benefit the people of Nyandeni and the OR Tambo District Municipality. He further cautioned municipalities to improve on their turnaround time and approvals when investors come wanting to invest. “Policy uncertainty and turnaround time are the biggest stumbling blocks that stifle investment at municipal level, and municipalities need to address that as a matter of urgency,” Mvoko cautioned. Nyandeni is one of the poorest municipalities in the country with most of the population living in rural villages and over 75% classified as indigent. The main centre is Libode. Education is a big problem with 64% of schools either over-crowded or chronically over-croweded. HIV Aids is a serious health issue with the prevelance rate thought to be between 50% and 60% of the population. INTERNATIONAL BREAKING NEWS PREVIOUS NEXT Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Botswana will diversify its diamond-dependent economy by launching into the medicinal cannabis market and exploiting its abundant sunshine, President Duma Boko said on Tuesday, 19 November 2024 in his first State of the Nation address (SONA). Agence France Press 20 November 2024 at 09:00:00 This report from AFP, published on 20 November 2024 Duma Boko swept to power in elections three weeks ago that ejected the party that had ruled for nearly six decades on concerns about a slump in the economy. Diamonds make up about 80 percent of the southern African country's foreign earnings. "The decline in diamond revenues by over 60 percent in recent years is a clear signal that we can no longer afford to depend on a single commodity," Boko said. His government aims to attract investors to high-potential sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, tourism and technology. "Botswana receives more than 3,200 hours of sunlight annually and averages 21 megajoules per square metre which is among the highest in the world," Boko said. "The potential of solar energy is abundant." The arid country will also begin cultivating medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp to plug into the growing international market. "Our forecast in Botswana is to significantly increase our GDP with cannabis and hemp-related products," said Boko. "We will create jobs in this industry." A major gripe against the previous government under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which led the country to independence from Britain in 1966, was a 27-percent unemployment rate, rising to 38 percent for young people. Boko said other plans for job creation lay in boosting manufacturing and construction, as well as encouraging youth entrepreneurship and innovation. Botswana has engaged US billionaire Elon Musk's satellite internet provider Starlink to extend affordable internet connectivity to the entire country, Boko said. Starlink has plans to invest in infrastructure that will help transform Botswana into a digital hub for the entire region, he added. Home to around 2.7 million people, Botswana won praise for a smooth change of government when the BDP was quick to concede defeat after winning just four seats in parliament on 30 October 2024, compared to 36 for Boko's Umbrella for Democratic Change. # SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read Intelligence Agency Offers ‘Compliance’ and ‘Law Enforcement Interaction’ with SAPs for ‘Grey Zone’ Cannabis Outlets Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

CANNABIS INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS The Shadow Side of Rehab: Murder Charges Laid After Canadian Dies During Opioid Treatment at Durban ‘Clinic’ Westville dentist Anwar Mohamed Jeewa is facing murder charges after one of his patients succumbed at his clinic from opioid withdrawal. A subsequent police raid on the unregistered drug and alcohol treatment/detoxification facility, revealed not only ibogaine, but heroin, tik and cannabis on the premises. Anelisa Kubheka 23 April 2024 at 05:00:00 This report from IOL online , first published on 19 April 2024. A murder trial is underway in the Durban High Court where retired Hawks head Lieutenant-Colonel Anton Booysen gave evidence following the death of Milos Martinovic in 2017. Booysen was giving evidence as the investigating officer in the trial against dentist Anwar Mohamed Jeewa, who has been charged with the murder of Milos Martinovic. Martinovic was a Canadian and French citizen addicted to Oxycontin (an opiate) and Xanax (known as alprazolam). Alprazolam is a benzodiazepine medication commonly prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorder. Jeewa had a permit to import Tabermanthe Iboga (dry plant material) from Goban to South Africa, which he did regularly. He used the dry plant material to manufacture preparations containing ibogaine, which the State alleges he had no licence to do. In November 2017, Martinovic travelled to South Africa and on arrival at the centre, Minds Alive, he was in possession of an unknown number of OxyContini tablets and several boxes of Xanax which the State alleges Jeewa allowed him to keep. It is alleged that Jeewa instructed Martinovic to continue taking the tablets he had allowed him to keep to avoid withdrawal symptoms. It is alleged that on the night of November 7, Martinovic was given three to four separate doses of ibogaine capsules by a nurse. Ibogaine is contraindicated for the treatment of addiction to benzodiazepines. The chances of fatality are increased when benzodiazepines or opiates are taken together with other substances. The State alleges that Jeewa was aware of this. “Several items were seized including scheduled medicines and illicit drugs, those being tik, heroin and cannabis,” said Booysen. He said the centre was raided on November 17, 2017, following an application for a search warrant of the premises that the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court had granted. “Also seized were CCTV cameras at various places, including the bedrooms of the patients as well as a purple plastic file which was the patient admissions file. The medication and drugs were forwarded to the forensic science lab in Pretoria and the digital evidence was forwarded to the forensic digital laboratory. “The patient file was kept by me under lock and key pending further investigation from there on,” Booysen told the court. He said that while at the centre he was concerned when he saw a doctor’s prescription pad with signed pages. He said he saw the need to apply for a search-and-seizure warrant for Jeewa’s home, as he was concerned that he might continue treating patients and sourcing more ibogaine. On December 22, 2017, police raided Jeewa’s home and on arrival asked him if he had anything he wanted to tell them. He admitted to having ibogaine at his home. Booysen said when they asked Jeewa if he had a permit for the ibogaine, he said he did but it was at his facility and they headed there. He told the court that while on the driveway of the facility, he noticed the house next door to be derelict with no direct entrance to it. But there was a pedestrian gate from the facility to the house. Booysen said he noticed a lot of activity at the house on the morning they raided the facility. He said after verbalising his curiosity about the house next door while in the car, Jeewa said while police did not have a warrant they were welcome to search the house. Booysen told the court that Jeewa had told police that the derelict house was where he manufactured his ibogaine. The trial continues. # Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Read SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer" Intent on Looting the Nation Read Finally, the Multi-Million Euro JuicyFields Cannabis Scam Starts Finding its Way to Court Read NEXT PREVIOUS Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

Previous Next Retail Hemp Comes of Age as Hemporium Opens Flagship Store in Cape Town CANNABIS BUSINESS NEWS Botswana Breakthrough: New President Embraces Cannabis in First SONA Pain Relief is what Most Medical Cannabis Patients Are Looking For The Law Seems Certain About One Thing: Private Cannabis Clubs Are Neither Illegal Or Legal SA Court Censures Swaziland News for Calling eSwatini King a “Dangerous Dagga Dealer " Intent on Looting the Nation IN OTHER NEWS comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

Previous Next “Rethink Prohibition and Stop Picking on Users”: New Era on the Horizon as Eastern and South African Commission on Drugs Launched to Re-Examine drug policies. Home African News South African News International News All News Marketplace Business News More Carolyn Doley, Daily Maverick 12 February 2023 at 11:00:00 Former South African President Kgalema Mothlante is part of a new initiative that is working out appropriate southern Africandrug policies in the wake of the failure of the 'War Against Drugs'. Part of the plan, which is based on a human rights approach to substance abuse, is to encourage law enforcement to clamp down on narco-traffickers and to provide better social support for drug users. This report by author and leading investigative journalist Carolyn Doley first appeared in the Daily Maverick on 12 February 2024. The Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESADC), which involves ex-presidents including South Africa’s Kgalema Motlanthe, was launched in Cape Town on Saturday 11 February 2023. It will push for law enforcers to focus on narcotraffickers instead of criminalising users, who need better support. More heroin from Afghanistan and destined for Western markets is ending up in eastern and southern Africa. In South Africa, the trade of inexpensive heroin is linked to another crisis – gang violence in Cape Town. Daily Maverick has reported extensively on how major drug syndicates, with links to countries including Brazil, Australia and the US, are operating by way of South Africa. Beneath these global and local narcotrafficking problems are drug users, who can end up in prison for what some view as unreasonable lengths of time and who lack access to health-related interventions they need. Ex-presidents and experts This is where ESACD fits in. The ESCAD is aimed at law reform and better ways of dealing with drug users as there is a consensus that the “war on drugs” – cracking down on illegal drug use – has largely failed and that there are more humane ways to deal with related issues. Launched in Cape Town on Saturday 11 February 2023, the commission follows the model of the West Africa Commission on Drugs. According to its website, the West Africa commission was launched in 2014  “to mobilise political attention and practical responses to [drug trafficking-related] challenges”. The ESACD is also linked to the Global Commission on Drug Policy that was created in 2011. It comprises four commissioners. Three of them are former presidents: Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa (who is also on the global commission),  Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique Cassam Uteem of Mauritius. Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim of South Africa, one of the world’s leading Aids researchers and an infectious diseases epidemiologist. ‘Harmful and failed war on drugs’ Helen Clark, the global commission’s chair and a former prime minister of New Zealand, spoke at the ESACD’s launch. She said there was a global growing appreciation of the “very real harms associated with the prohibitionist approach of the war on drugs”. Clark added: “It has led to really massive human rights violations. It’s associated with harsh and utterly disproportionate treatment of people convicted of so-called drug offences ranging all the way to the death penalty. “Over-incarceration is very much associated with this prohibitionist drive.” She said this could be proven by looking at prison populations and checking how many inmates were detained on drug-offence charges. “The ‘war on drugs’ has failed…We urgently need new drug policies that prioritise people’s health and well-being”. Former President Kgalema Motlanthe, chair of the Eastern & Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) at today’s launch in Cape Town. #ESACD #drugs pic.twitter.com/0lcylsM2Zh — Julian Rademeyer – @julianrademeyer@newsie.social (@julianrademeyer) February 10, 2023 “The global commission,” Clark said, “takes the view that the prohibitionist approach was always bound to fail. Throughout human history human beings have reached for some kind of substance for whatever reason.” Regulation and decriminalisation She explained that different ways to regulate drugs, as was the case with alcohol and tobacco, which could also be harmful, needed to be looked at. “There is a great deal of momentum around the world on drug law reform,” Clark said. This included decriminalisation. She referred to Uruguay and Canada. In 2013 Uruguay legalised recreational cannabis use and, five years later, Canada followed suit and legalised the drug for recreational use. Germany, Clark said, was considering doing the same. She acknowledged that, in trying to push for “forward-leaning reform” in Africa, “you’re trying to overturn decades of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ approach”. ‘Cops should focus on kingpins’ Motlanthe explained that the commission’s focus was “on harm reduction, decriminalisation and, of course, the criminal justice system, rather than penalising end users.” He added: “[Law enforcers] should really focus on the manufacturers, and the traffickers, the major players, because the focus on the end users [negatively affects] the prison population and creates all manner of violation of basic human rights.” Motlanthe hoped the commission would give key communities a voice “given the criminalisation and prohibition of drugs has resulted in the human rights of even children and young people being violated”. He said alternative and “more humane ways” needed to be found to deal with drug-related societal problems. Chissano agreed with Motlanthe’s statements and said a key focus was to research how to combat “bad” drugs in a good way. Aspects of the fight against drugs, he explained, could become harmful. Chissano hoped lessons could be learned from West Africa, which launched its drugs commission nearly a decade ago. Health effects and overdoses Abdool Karim said the drug problem was multifaceted. “It’s not just an issue for the eastern and southern African region, but globally what we’ve been seeing is an increase in drug consumption in very complex ways, with many ramifications at a community level,” she said. “It’s not something that can be solved by one entity or one ministry.” Abdool Karim detailed some ways in which drug use could affect a person’s health. “We already have a high burden of HIV. Sixty percent of the global burden of infection is in eastern and southern Africa,” she said. “It’s primarily being transmitted sexually but, with the increase in substance use, we’re seeing an increase also in injecting drug use which provides a new mode of transmission.” Abdool Karim said increased purification of some drugs, as well as the price of drugs, was leading to more deaths from overdoses. In terms of the “war on drugs”, she said “what we’ve learned very clearly, [there is] substantive evidence to show, that’s not the way to go”. She added: “What we need is a human rights approach … we need a more humane way of dealing with it that includes law reform.” Many narcotrafficking methods At the ESACD launch, the issue of mass drug consignments being smuggled in shipping containers was focused on. Shaun Shelly, an ex-deputy-secretary of the UN’s Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs, said this was just one of the methods traffickers were using. “To exercise stringent border control on containers … you’d basically have to shut down all trade,” he said. “It’s already tremendously problematic to search that number of containers … and also, transnational organised criminal enterprises have many ways, besides containers. “We know that, down the east coast of Africa, there’ve been bales of drugs just dumped in the currents … they’ve got tracking devices on them and they get picked up off the coast.” Bernice Apondi, of VOCAL-Kenya, a human rights NGO dedicated to transforming drug control laws, said traffickers were exceptionally creative. Some were using motorbikes to transport drugs and others were employing school-going children as couriers. DM Sponsored by Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! 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Previous Next Zimbabwe’s Hemp Fortunes Hinge on Diversification into Fibre and Foods Home African News South African News International News All News Marketplace Business News More Hemp Today 6 April 2023 at 10:00:00 As Zimbabwe continues to shape rules and laws for the hemp industry, the country needs to simultaneously build out infrastructure and expand research while spreading risk by moving beyond CBD into the production of food and fibre products. Amended legislation in Zimbabwe earlier this year removed industrial hemp from the country’s list of dangerous drugs and set the defining line between marijuana and hemp at 1.0%. That THC limit puts Zimbabwe in the vanguard of nations around the world that have broken with the long-standing convention observed by most countries, which sets the THC limit for hemp at 0.3%. Zimbabwe opened up the domestic market for CBD as a traditional herbal medicine last year, expanding upon previous laws which had allowed production only for export. What 1% THC means An increased THC level gives industrial hemp farmers greater production efficiency for CBD because CBD rises in hemp plants in proportion to THC. The high limit will also mean Zimbabwe farmers won’t have to worry about their crops going over the THC threshold as most major hemp varieties which bear some kind of registration have been bred for 0.2% or 0.3% THC. The 1.0% THC limit broadens options in genetics, and allows the production of a wider range of products, said Kumbirai Mateva, a plant breeder who sits on Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Research Board (TRB), which has responsibility for hemp research. “This is particularly important because studies have shown that certain genetics that combine cannabinol (CBD) and THC ratios produce interesting fiber qualities and also an entourage effect with synergistic therapeutic benefits from the CBD flowers,” Mateva told the ZimEye website. Clever Isaya, CEO of the country’s Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA), said there is a need to intensify the breeding of local hemp seed varieties to boost production. The TRB has been testing and developing hemp genetics for adaptation to Zimbabwe’s climatic conditions over the last few years. Risk in CBD Zimbabwe’s hemp industry is still small. The country roughly doubled production between 2021 and 2022, turning out 40 tons last year from 24 hectares planted – primarily for hemp flowers – according to the AMA. An estimated 50 hectares is expected to be put in this year, but if Zimbabwean farmers stick primarily to growing flowers for CBD, they could find their fortunes diminished. Flowers brought Zimbabwe’s growers roughly $10 per kilogram from Switzerland last year, according to the AMA. But the global CBD market remains in a price squeeze following a massive oversupply of flowers that accumulated over the past three years, causing prices to plunge by more than 90% since 2019 – when Zimbabwe first got its hemp initiative going at a prison in Harare. In the U.S., the average price for CBD biomass was roughly $7.50 per kilogram ($3.83/lb.) in February – a new all-time low – analyst HempBenchmarks reported. Signs of change Zimbabwean hemp stakeholders could escape significant damage caused by the CBD crash by adding or transitioning to industrial hemp for fiber and food outputs. And signals indicate that could be happening. The government last year listed hempcrete as a promising option in the construction industry after it secured a $63 million line of credit from an African fund to develop eco-friendly buildings. Under that initiative, the National Housing and Social Amenities Ministry has a goal to build 220,000 housing units by 2025. The government has also said it is allocating separate funds to develop a factory to turn out green building materials. Also, hemp has the potential to become a significant food crop in Zimbabwe. While the government has said little about hempseed-based foods, the market for such products is well-established and growing, and the country’s hemp stakeholders could potentially tap into this market both domestically and through exports. The government is providing further support to the hemp industries through Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust (ZIHT), a development initiative established to assist farmers in starting up hemp operations, and to explore export potential. Also, industrial hemp has been identified as a crop of interest in the government’s Vision 2030 program, which aims to advance agricultural profitability and rural development. In addition to research, Zimbabwe needs local hemp testing centers and facilities for processing hemp grain and fiber products, Mateva said. Tobacco in decline Zimbabwean authorities see industrial hemp as a replacement for the country’s falling prospects in tobacco, which makes up roughly 20% of Zimbabwe’s exports. Contraction in the tobacco industry has contributed to stagnation which has beset the country’s economy for nearly two decades despite the African nation’s vast wealth of natural resources. While only two companies, African Medical Cannabis Biotech and Swiss Bioceuticals, produce CBD in Zimbabwe, 60 entities now hold licenses from the AMA – 27 growers, 18 retail sellers, and 15 which are conducting research.” Investors from Germany, Switzerland and Canada are among those who have received cultivation and processing licenses under Zimbabwe’s cannabis program. Sponsored by Cannabiz Africa Newsline The Business Of Cannabis Coming Fresh every Week. Stay ahead in the cannabis industry! Subscribe to CANNABIZ AFRICA NEWSLINE for weekly insights on the business of cannabis. Fresh updates every week! 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