Botswana Commercial Hemp Trials a Success, Now the Challenge is Including Local Farmers in the Roll Out Strategy
Botswana’s President Duma Boko says pilot cultivation trials have proved the country is ready to roll out a commercial strategy for industrial hemp. The government says it will provide support for local farmers who say they are being locked out of a market that favours multinationals.
Nigeria’s ‘Jungle Justice’: Man Jailed for 7 Years for Advertising Cannabis on Social Media
A 28 year old Nigerian man has been sentenced to seven years in prison without the option of a fine for advertising cannabis for sale on social media. The sentence has been welcomed by drug enforcement officials, but has been criticized as ‘jungle justice’ by proponents of justice reform.
New South Wales Reforms Driving Laws to Accommodate Medical Cannabis Patients
Thousands of medicinal cannabis patients in New South Wales, Australia, could soon be spared criminal penalties for driving with traces of THC in their system under a landmark reform that seeks to balance road safety with the realities of modern medical treatment.
Josh Swart: Nobody Wins by Criminalizing Private Cannabis Clubs So Here Are the Options
Government should consider bringing out a Private Cannabis Clubs Act to clear up the legal mess it has created around the model, which clearly has a place in the reform framework. Lawyer Josh Swart says that legitimate clubs should be regulated without the threat of criminal sanction and puts these options on the table.
Private Club Operators Must Not Only Navigate the Law but Plan for ‘Banking and Tax Friction’ as the Cannabis ‘Grey Zone’ Booms
Lawyer Zurayda Mayet says private cannabis club operators should plan for “banking and tax friction” as the market continues to be a high risk environment. She says that operators should get a clear legal opinion on their operations in light of the Haze Club judgement and build their structures accordingly.
Botswana Stakeholders Frustrated by Govt Delay in Promised Review of Exorbitant Licensing Fees
Botswana’s high cannabis and hemp licensing fees, published in January this year, have provoked sharp criticism from local stakeholders who feel intentionally locked out of the market. Now, months after promising to review the licensing structure, the Government remains silent as to how it intends incorporating local farmers into the new cannabis sector.
Soft Secrets’ Publisher Fabrizio Dentini on Establishing SA Operation: Your Country is the Paradise of Paradoxes
Soft Secrets, a pioneer cannabis publication distributed in 27 countries, has extended its reach into South Africa. Italian publisher Fabrizio Dentini says he’s blown away by the local cannabis culture: “it is like opening a living book where every character is a protagonist and where every story can become a legend”.
DA: KZN Should Set up Set up Hemp Processing Hubs to Build the Value Chain
The DA has called for the KwaZulu Natal government to pull out all the stops in developing the hemp value chain. MPL Hannah Lidgett says the hemp sector had the potential to create thousands of jobs and that the province should establish dedicated processing hubs for manufacture and export.
Brian Jaftha: From Movement to Mainstream: The Way Forward for GUNP
GUN President Brian Jaftha says that Namibia now stands at a cannabis crossroads. With the legal route to legalization closed, Jaftha, is now taking the fight into the political arena. Here he explains his vision in forming the Ganja Users of Namibia Party and how he intends mobilizing it into a credible political force.
‘No Green Washing’: German State Challenges Cannabis Flower Import Compliance
Authorities from the German state of Hesse have taken aim at the practice of ‘GMP washing’ in its thriving medical cannabis market, an intervention that could have significant implications for the industry at large.