Beau Whitney: Press the Cannabis Regulatory Reset Button at the UN Level
Worldwide, one of the deepest problems in trying to regulate cannabis is that it is being defined in pharmaceutical terms and not recognized as a plant medicine. This will only be fixed at a United Nations level says leading cannabis economist Beau Whitney, in order to create a meaningful framework for regulation.
Global South Needs to Set Up its Own Cannabis Trade Networks to Avoid the Trap of Canna-Colonialism
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.
Mainstreaming Mimmie: Free State’s Success Story in Backing Cannabis Entrepreneur’s Business Ambitions
A Free State cannabis entrepreneur Molihobeng Semela, has been voted Free State Agriculture Department’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, for ‘mainstreaming’ her start-up company, Mimmie Trading and Projects which produces cannabis-derived health and cosmetics products.
Ivory Medical Emerges as a Front Runner in Zimbabwe’s Cannabis Development Programme
Zimbabwe’s policy to legalise the production of medicinal cannabis is bearing fruit, with a multi-million-dollar value-addition facility in Headlands now transforming the “green gold” into high-end CBD pharmaceutical products.
University of Johannesburg’s Hemp Brick Prototype Could Change the National Housing Conversation
University of Johannesburg (UJ) researchers, in partnership with Canna-B-Africa, have designed a hemp brick specifically for sustainable mass housing. UJ says years of research have gone into developing a prototype that serves as an alternative to cement and hopes it will redefine the way South Africa builds houses.
FIFA Bans World-Cup Shaped Bongs For Copyright Infringement
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.
ICS 2026: Strengthening Pan-African Cannabis Relationships in the Shadow of Xenophobia
ICS 2026 organizer Sean Hocking has expressed his sympathy to two Ghanaian CEO’s who have decided not to attend next week’s conference because of the xenophobic climate in the country. He says the Cape Town conference aims to strengthen pan-African communication channels and no other African delegates have withdrawn.
Nigeria Finally Waking Up to the Potential of Cannabis as MP’s Begin Drafting a Legal Framework
Medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp production are in the pipeline for Nigeria, with the National Assembly currently drafting legislation to create a legal framework for the cultivation and use of cannabis for medical, scientific and industrial purposes.
H3’s Botha: Govt Not Acting Fast Enough to Ensure Local Ownership of Landraces, Warns of ‘Genetic Outflow’
The Government is not acting fast enough to protect its own cannabis genetic resource base and ensuring that communities ‘own’ the IP to the landraces they have been cultivating for generations. Although this is official policy, H3’s Charl Botha writes here there needs to be more urgency in implementation.
Cheeba’s Birch: Accept That Govt Can’t Move the Industry Forward, It’s Up to Stakeholders to Show the Way
Cheeba Africa co-founder Trenton Birch says it’s crystal clear that government is struggling to move the dial forward on cannabis reform. He says that puts a load of responsibility onto private sector players to keep up the change momentum and lead the way.