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Friday 3 May 2019

Cannabis and South Africa

A ruling by a South African Constitutional court in September 2018 that cannabis is part of an individual's right to privacy was hailed by many within the country and internationally. The departments of health, justice and agriculture immediately set about making changes to their policies on the basis of this land mark judgement that recognizes an individual's right to home grow, possess and consume cannabis. What these changes signify and how they get implemented on the ground in the areas of agriculture, industry, the economy, medicine and legality remains to be seen. South African lawmakers are said to be making steady progress in terms of making the necessary changes to legalize the plant after decades of prohibition. How the cannabis opposition plays out in the light of this will be something to keep a close watch on. It has been two years since that momentous ruling by the court, but South Africa has not legalized recreational cannabis yet. It appears to be Mexico and the US that look most likely to legalize in 2021.

Cannabis, known as dagga in South Africa, has been a part of the people's culture, tradition and society for as long back as we can remember. Like in many other parts of Africa, South Africa is likely to possess some valuable indigenous varieties of cannabis that have survived the onslaught of the world wide war on cannabis. This will most likely be due to the efforts of small farmers and indigenous tribal communities that have evaded the mindless actions of law enforcement and managed to keep the plant alive. These native varieties of cannabis need to be documented on priority, measures need to be set up for their preservation and revival, research probably needs to be done on their medicinal, recreational and industrial properties. Native communities and small farmers that still grow the precious herb needs to be provided all the support and encouragement so that as many native varieties of cannabis as possible can be revived. The government and people need to remain wary of multinational companies looking to patent the cannabis plants to serve their international consumer markets and in the process deny the poor, sick, aged, women, youth, small farmers and indigenous communities in South Africa from access to the plant. Properly managed, cannabis can provide a significant boost to South African agriculture, industry, economy, health, recreation, business, research and tourism as is being evidenced in the US, Europe, Canada, etc. Other African nations such as Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, etc. have started taking steps to lift prohibition in incremental fashion. South Africa and all other African nations need to come out strongly at the UN as well to get the prohibition on cannabis lifted. This is not just important for the people of South Africa but for the entire world.

South Africa needs to build on the foundations laid by the land mark judgement of its law court and extend the framework so that its people can truly enjoy their right to freedom of once again re-establishing their relationship with one of the world's oldest, greatest, safest medicinal, spiritual and recreational herbs.

It was heartening to see that in the meetings held in March 2020 to review the scheduling status of cannabis at the UN, South Africa took a strong stand in favor of cannabis legalization. It said  “the recommendations are sound, balanced and based on the critical review of the scientific evidence” and that they “will serve as an important guide on how member states should schedule the substances under domestic legislation.”  This is the kind of stance that the African nations should be taking in the face of opposition to the emblematic herb from countries and businesses that stand to gain from its continued prohibition. Hopefully South Africa's stance will help to inspire other African nations to change their wrong perspective and come out in strong support of cannabis legalization.

In December 2020,  the UN voted to remove cannabis from its most restricted Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It does however still remain in Schedule I, which is the least restrictive. This one move by the UN itself should be sufficient to bring about the recreational legalization of cannabis in every nation and an overhaul of national drug laws. This should make the legalization path even more easier for South Africa.

The longer the legalization of cannabis is delayed, the more likely that synthetic legal and illegal pharmaceutical drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, synthetic cannabinoids, harmful prescription drugs and novel psychotropic substances,, etc will make inroads into the South African population. The pharma industry will do all it can to prevent legalization. This is amply evident in the recent moves by the Indian government to ship Covid related pharmaceutical vaccines free of cost to South Africa. What was possibly done surreptitiously in the form of Tramadol and Codeine is now being done openly, making it appear to be a gesture of international fraternity, rather than the consolidation of the pharma industry, one of the key opponents to cannabis legalization.
 
Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.   

 
'Government wants to have concept plans for the development of the hemp and dagga sector in place by October, especially considering the potential the industry could hold for job creation, says Busani Ngcaweni, the head of policy and research in the presidency.'
https://city-press.news24.com/Business/new-dawn-for-weed-in-sa-20190823


https://twitter.com/GovernmentZA/status/1280835051463286784
 
 
'South Africa said that “the recommendations are sound, balanced and based on the critical review of the scientific evidence” and that they “will serve as an important guide on how member states should schedule the substances under domestic legislation.”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/postponed-vote-on-who-cannabis-recommendations-reveals-international-disagreements-uphill-battle-ahead/

'According to the Agricultural Research Council, hemp can be used to make more than 25,000 consumer products, from hemp apparel and accessories to houseware and cosmetics.'
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2018-09-18-sa-forges-ahead-with-guidelines-to-regulate-hemp-cultivation-and-manufacturing/


'Approximately 65% of sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural land is degraded, according to data collected in 2015, resulting in food insecurity and a declining economy in a region where the agricultural industry employs more than half of the total labor force. Hemp’s soil nutrient replenishing properties could be the key to reviving crop production, providing a novel food source (hemp seeds) and boosting the agro-based economies of South Africa and other hemp-cultivating sub-Saharan countries.'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/10/23/the-age-of-hemp-global-advanced-industrial-applications/


'South Africa has a good growing climate for cannabis, also known locally as “dagga,” and low labor and production costs compared to consumer nations in the West. Rob Davies, the country’s trade and industry minister, said the government is assessing South Africa’s potential to become “an active player” in the market for cannabis-related products, according to local media.

The Constitutional Court judgment allowing private use of cannabis “will force a rethinking of all legislation and may see government allowing mass production of marijuana for medical purpose,” the South African Federation of Trade Unions said last month. It said it might recruit and organize so that “workers in the new industry are protected.”'
https://apnews.com/50ba55423ae14122b256b774bc3a7ad3

 
'Parliament notes the judgment today by the Constitutional Court on the use of dagga or cannabis in private homes and the 24-month period within which the national legislature is expected to rectify constitutional defects in the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992 and the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act of 1965.'
https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/parliament-constitutional-court-judgment-use-dagga-cannabis-private-homes


'SA’s medicines regulator has warned consumers that all the medical products containing cannabis on the local market are illegal, as none have been registered with the authorities.

In a statement issued on Monday, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said the recent Constitutional Court ruling legalising the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use did not mean people could use it to manufacture and sell their own medicines.

The Constitutional Court handed down a judgment in September 2018 that declared existing legislation which criminalises the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis unconstitutional. It is therefore no longer an offence for a person to use or be in possession of cannabis in private, or to cultivate the plant in a private place for their personal consumption.'
https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2019-02-04-regulator-sounds-warning-on-illegal-cannabis-medicines/


Me thinks Point 4 - 'supporting farmers and local manufacturers of synthetic drugs in moving away from cannabis cultivation' is erroneous and should read as 'supporting farmers and local manufacturers of synthetic drugs in moving "towards" cannabis cultivation;'

'Since it is inconceivable that a drug-free South African society – the goal of the current drug policy – can be achieved, the best drug policy in South Africa should be based on a more humane, broad-minded and liberal approach. This approach includes: taking steps to reduce the harms associated with drug sale and use and the harms done by the criminal justice system; decriminalising and/or legalising possession and personal use of some drugs; ensuring that evidenced-based treatments for addiction are readily available across the cities and townships in the country; supporting farmers and local manufacturers of synthetic drugs in moving away from cannabis cultivation; ensuring full compliance with human rights obligations in drug control'
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2478/v10199-011-0033-0


'Zondo ruled on Tuesday that Sections 4(b) and 5(b) of the Drugs Act, and Section 22A(9)(a)(i) of the Medicines Act were unconstitutional and invalid, to the extent that it prohibits the use of possession of cannabis by an adult in private for the adult's personal consumption in private. Zondo said the Constitutional Court held these statutory provisions to be constitutionally invalid, to the extent indicated, because they infringed the right to privacy entrenched in Section 14 of the Constitution.'
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/concourt-rules-that-personal-use-of-dagga-is-not-a-criminal-offence-20180918


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