The liberalized approach adopted by the West toward medicinal and recreational attributes of Cannabis is good news for most of the African countries. This has the potential to change the landscape of Africa’s agriculture sector, which is presently languishing under poor policies and chronic neglect. Favourable climate and soil texture, cheap and abundant labour, are some of the factors that make growing the weed easier in Africa than other parts of the world. With the ballooning demand for cannabis from countries like Us and Canada, Africa can become the leading supplier of Cannabis. The huge money the crop can bring into the continent can easily wash away its economic hardships.
According to Prohibition Partners’ African Cannabis Report published early this year, the continent is emerging as a player in the medical cannabis at a spectacular rate. Presently, the legal cannabis industry could be worth more than US$ 7.1 billion. But this can grow manifold. There are compelling commercial reasons for going soft on cannabis. Poverty is the foremost one. A decline in demand for key cash crops, particularly tobacco, is pushing the region’s governments to look for alternative income streams. Given that cannabis is grown illegally in large quantities across the African continent, pragmatic legislation and regulation could unlock the income for many African countries, particularly the leading tobacco growers like Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Some countries in Africa such as, South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have moved toward liberal laws on medical and recreational cannabis. However, the South African legislation enacted in 2018 is under animated suspension for 24 months till the time the Parliament amends the Constitution. Malawi, Morocco, Ghana and eSwatini, Egypt and Kenya are not far behind, where there are hectic parleys among policymakers to decide the broad contours of the legislation, regulatory mechanism and more importantly, how well they should be implemented. In Zambia, a discussion is on how to regulate cannabis for medicinal purposes and not for recreational purposes.
A very high degree of caution and strong regulatory measures have to be put in place before liberalizing cannabis cultivation, processing and marketing them. Cannabis for recreational purposes is highly risky as such legislations can be easily misused jeopardizing the younger age group. But the problem lies in distinguishing between medicinal and recreational use. Even with all restrictions and criminality of using and keeping cannabis and the products made out of it, it is common knowledge, it is misused. The other point is how to draw a line about the quantum of production and the quality of the produce. A substance like cannabis can be produced in large quantities to realize higher revenues. It is a known fact that several terror outfits are indulging in cannabis cultivation to fund their nefarious activities. Indeed, it is a herculean task to draw the line. Only a responsible administration can steer clear of the flip side of the liberal policy.
