Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.Take it or leaf it: Laws prevent banks from financing the cannabis industry, however changes are on the cards. Photo: Getty Images
He said clarity was needed on how the industry would be regulated to ensure the product was used appropriately, in the case of medicinal use, and how the risks of potential abuse would be mitigated. “Absa recognises the growing focus on the cannabis industry in South Africa to unlock economic opportunities, including job creation. We are committed to participating in the provision of financial products and services within the enabling legislative framework and internal policy positions,” the bank said.
The cannabis bill, drafted in response to the court’s order, was meant to have been passed by 2020, but has been sent back several times. , the law continues to prescribe jail sentences for trading in cannabis, leaving the creation of a framework for a legal cannabis industry to the passing of further legislation.
Birch said the banking sector still views cannabis as a narcotic and so it is not interested in reforming its own internal policies to facilitate investment into the sector. None of this has happened yet and according to Birch the only way to start a cannabis business right now is to fund it by asking friends and family.