BUSINESS MAVERICK: Government gets rolling on cannabis policy

It has been almost a year since Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo declared that Sections 4 and 5 of the Drugs Act, and Section 22A of the Medicines Act, were unconstitutional and invalid because they prohibited adults from privately using or cultivating cannabis. Parliament has another year to bring cannabis legislation up to constitutional scratch.

, give some insight into the direction this may take. Issues being explored include: the regulatory framework for the treatment of patients; religious uses; legislation in other countries, presumably including Canada, which has gone the legalisation route; the industrial potential of hemp; and assurances that legal cannabis cultivation does not compromise food security.

, this is low-hanging fruit that can easily be plucked. In April, Canada’s statistics agency reported that the number of people employed in the country’s cannabis sector had risen four-fold from the previous year to 9,200. Most of those were involved in cultivation, harvesting and processing. Given South Africa’s relatively low labour costs, one could expect tens of thousands of jobs to be easily created in such areas, and quickly.President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken a keen interest in the issue.

I recently asked a large-scale commercial grain farmer for his thoughts on the potential to transform some maize land to cannabis cultivation, which per hectare can be far more profitable.

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