Narcos Live to Fight Another Day as R4,3 Billion Indian Drug Bust Case Collapses in SA
All those behind a multibillion consignment of hard drugs shipped from South Africa to India appear to have escaped arrest. One witness says that’s because politicians and police in both countries made sure the case ended cold. The police minister Firoz Cachalia says measures will be put in place to stop such practices.
Southern Africa’s Hemp Challenge: Turning Policy into Economic Value
The development of a viable industrial hemp industry in Southern Africa depends on closing critical gaps in funding, coordination, and implementation, experts said at the recent African Industrial Hemp Fibre Processing for Commercialisation Conference in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
Cannabis Emerging from the Sidelines to Become Integral Part of SA’s Pharmaceutical Industry
Cannabis has emerged from the peripheries and is now positioned at the heart of pharmaceutical healthcare. That’s the message from SANCAP founder Juan Fourie, speaking at Africa’s showcase pharmaceutical expo in Sandton, which features medical cannabis for the first time.
Growing Cannabis Business Confidence Reflected in High Demand for Expo 2026 Exhibitor Space
There is a renewed confidence in the South African cannabis industry following government indications that a regulated domestic adult-use market is on the horizon. Expo CEO Silas Howarth says this is reflected in the rapid uptake of exhibitor stands for the 2026 event as the mood swings from ‘survival to strategy’
Royal Queen Seeds SA Partners eThekwini Municipality to Fund Three Year Cannabis Development Pilot Project
The eThekwini Municipality has announced a three year cannabis and hemp pilot project with the South African subsidiary of Royal Queen Seeds. RQS, which has a cannabis seed store on the Bluff in Durban, will fund the project aimed at unlocking the province’s cannabis value chain.
Kenyan Rastas Challenge Cannabis Prohibition as a Violation of Religious Freedom
Kenya’s High Court has been hearing the Rastafarian community’s arguments that the country’s prohibitionist cannabis laws are a violation of their religious freedom. The Rastas are not arguing for an end to prohibition but rather that their use of cannabis for spiritual purposes is decriminalized.
SAPS Raid Four KZN Cannabis Shops in Renewed ‘Grey Zone’ Clampdown
KZN police have raided four cannabis outlets in the greater Durban area, seized R1,3 m of stock and arrested five people for dealing in drugs in what appears to be a new crackdown on the province’s ‘Grey Zone’ .
Ghana’s Exorbitant Cannabis License Fees To Be Challenged in Court Despite Minor Concessions
A Ghanaian farmer Mariam Alhassan is challenging the constitutionality of the country’s new cannabis licensing regime in court. This comes despite concessions made by Parliament this month to reduce some of the fees, which still remain among the highest in the world.
Porous Borders No Problem as eSwatini Pumps Out Illicit Cannabis to Service Lucrative SA Market
Multiple law enforcement agencies in eSwatini and South Africa are stepping up their efforts to try and curb cross-border cannabis smuggling. This has been steadily increasing with eSwatini cannabis dealers attracted by the prices they can get supplying the rapidly expanding illicit SA retail ‘Grey Zone’.
Morocco Has Put Landrace at the Centre of its Cannabis Development Strategy, Everything Else Follows
Morocco hasn’t distinguished between medical cannabis and industrial hemp in developing its cannabis industry. French academic Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy says that by putting the indigenous kif landrace at the centre of monetizing the plant, Morocco is being focused, yet flexible by keeping its end-use options open.