Back to the Drawing Board as Govt’s Failure to Accommodate Mpondoland Breaks SA’s ‘Legally Absurd’ Cannabis Reform Plans
Mpondoland has brought South Africa’s current cannabis reform initiative to its knees. Failure to accommodate the thousands of legacy farmers in the Cannabis Act has resulted in a court challenge that will force Government back to square one in reformulating an inclusive cannabis policy. And that square is Mpondoland.
Nic Heinamann: The New Prince High Court Challenge is Forcing Government to Fix the Sins of the Past
South Africa initiated global prohibition way back in 1923. Now it’s being forced to pay for this original sin by veteran activist Gareth Prince. His Western Cape High Court Legal Challenge aims to dismantle the remaining vestiges of prohibition once and for all and rebuld cannabis policy on the foundations of constitutional justice.
Kenya’s Cannabis Economy is Thriving and Uplifting the Rural Poor – Pity it’s Illegal!
Kenya has a stable, thriving cannabis retail market that links cities and villages, builds rural economies and offers the poor a means of wealth creation. Yet it’s all illegal in the eyes of the Nairobi government officials, who remain blinded to the plant’s potential in helping its own citizens.
GUN to Form New Political Party to Push for Namibian Cannabis Legalization After High Court Setback.
Ganja Users of Namibia president Brian Jaftha (pictured here) says his organization has decided to form a political party to push for the legalization of cannabis. This after the Windhoek High Court dismissed GUN’s challenge, saying the ultimate legalization decision should be taken by policy-makers, not the courts.
Windhoek High Court Dismisses GUN’s Application to Decriminalize Cannabis
The Windhoek High Court has dismissed the Ganja Users of Namibia (GUN) application to overturn colonial-era cannabis prohibition laws. However, this does not mean the State has rejected cannabis legalization; its lawyers successfully argued that this was a policy decision best handled by the legislature and not by the courts.
Mauritius: Hospitality Group Calls for Cannabis Legalization to Help Control Synthetics Substance Abuse
Mauritius has been hearing public submissions on relaxing it’s prohibitive cannabis laws. The Lalit Hospitality Group made a wide-ranging submission to the National Agency for Drug Control to halt arrests, create a regulated adult-use and medical cannabis sector and allow people to grow their own ‘gandya’.
Pondoland and the Problem with Cannabis Upliftment Stories
Writer Lee Hymers’ relationship with the plant goes way back to the days of the deep underground and he’s watched keenly how the cannabis landscape has unfolded. One of his take-outs on ICS 2026 was that while all the right conversations are happening ‘in the room’, there are tougher questions outside the door that need answering.
UN Drug Report 2026: Illicit Operators Manipulating Legal Supply Chains; Potency and Polydrug Use on the Up
The recently released UN World Drug Report 2026 says illicit cannabis networks are increasingly riding on the back of legal cannabis supply chains and that synthetic cannabinoids have complicated the market. Cannabis remains the most widely trafficked drug, accounting for over 50% of global seizures.
‘No Rules’ for Cannabis is Encouraging a Broader Breakdown of Law and Order’
The rapid expansion of the cannabis sector poses a serious challenge for the thousands of government officials who have to deal with it on a daily basis without any operating guidelines. H3’sCharl Botha writes that this ‘legal gap’ is in danger of growing into a broader failure in law enforcement.
Germany Tightens Up Medical Cannabis Advertising Rules to Allow Product Info Only – No Sales Spin
German medical cannabis companies may provide product information on their online telesales platforms but they are not allowed to put a sales spin on their offerings. This follows a Federal Court of Justice ruling earlier this year that cannabis products may be advertised to medical professionals only – not to patients or consumers.