Trump Freeze on ‘Green Funding’ Puts Paid to Bold Project to Make Hemp Batteries for EV’s
A bold US initiative to twin hemp batteries and electric vehicles has come to nought with a Trump freeze on ‘green funding’. Wisconsin Battery Company had hoped its hemp carbon batteries would outperform lithium-based alternatives, but has run into financial difficulties before being able to put this to the test.
Cheeba Cannabis & Hemp Summit at the Expo: Major Networking Event Comes at Key Moment in Cannabis Reform
South Africa’s premier cannabis industry networking event will be held alongside the Cannabis Expo taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre on 30 and 31 May 2025. The Cheeba Cannabis and Hemp Industry Summit will bring together cannabis and hemp sector leaders with senior advisor Garth Strachan (pictured above) delivering the keynote address.
Okhahlamba Hopes Planned ‘Shared Cannabis Processing Facility’ Will Create Jobs as KZN Now Has Highest Unemployment Rate in SA
Okhahlamba (Bergville) Municipality in the Kwazulu Natal Drakensberg his pinning its hopes to bring down crippling unemployment in the area with the development of a cannabis processing facility. The pilot project is being funded by the province but the Municipality hopes to raise an additional R10 million to bring it to fruition.
Charl Botha: Our Constitution Upholds the Right to Free Trade, This Should Apply to Cannabis As Well
Section 22 of the Constitution upholds the right to free trade. Cannabis has been freely traded in southern Africa for hundreds of years. Legal activist Charl Botha of H3 Legal Solutions says there are seven Government departments who have it within their power to enable this trade. This is what he suggests they do.
TCC’s Herman van Der Watt: ‘Legalize Private Cannabis Clubs Already, the Model is There!’
The co-founder of one of South Africa’s oldest private cannabis clubs, The CannaClub, has called on the Government to urgently introduce a clear legal framework under which cannabis social clubs can operate. The TCC’s Herman van der Watt says the private club movement can play an important role in social development as well as provide a safe environment for consumers, if only Government would let it.
DTIC: ‘Setting Up a Commercial Cannabis Framework is Our Priority!’
The DTIC is rebooting the Cannabis Master Plan telling key stakeholders that it’s priority is to commercialize cannabis. The Department wants to fast-track changes in the law to allow this and open up the channels of communication within government departments.
CBD Use Should Not Register Positive in Workplace Drug Tests, But THC is a Different Story
Just because cannabis can be consumed legally in the privacy of your home doesn’t mean you can come to work stoned. That’s the view of substance testing equipment producer Rhys Evans, who says employers and employees need to understand how the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act affects the workplace.
Mpumalanga Govt Says it Wants to Support Small-Scale Cannabis Businesses
Mpumulanga’s Agriculture and Small Business Development departments are actively seeking to fund ‘sustainable’ cannabis businesses with a focus on grassroots entreprenuers. This emerged at the recent Cannabis Symposium held near Mbombela earlier this month.
Compliant Players Feel the Pain as Losses Rack Up in the Absence of Regulations’
Government promises have cost private cannabis stakeholders billions of rand, left traditional growers in the lurch, and have created a regulatory vacuum which is penalising legitimate businesses. Cannabis legal activist Charl Botha says it’s time a multi-stakeholder cannabis task team to was set up to get a new overarching cannabis law on the books in 2026.
The Matekwane Sandbox Aims to Empower North West Cannabis Communities
North-West University (NWU) has unveiled its innovative Matekwane Sandbox, a “transformative research and development hub” aimed at integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) into the legal cannabis industry. University cannabis researcher, Dr Thandeka Kunene (pictured here), says this is a significant milestone in ensuring people are able to access opportunities in the commercialization of cannabis.