SA and legal cannabis: profits should be reaped, but like any industry, there are also risks
Parliament has to craft legislation that complies with a Constitutional Court ruling that the prohibitions on dagga use for adults do not pass constitutional muster
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
South Africa’s cannabis conversation is shifting into a new gear, with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on the record as pushing for full legalisation. Such a move will be welcome, with plenty of economic potential to unlock. But other experiments with legal, regulated pot usage, and uniquely South African circumstances, highlight the potential risks as well. There is the question of small-scale farmers, which the South African government would clearly hope could find opportunities in a formal dagga economy. Neither Colorado nor Canada have millions of subsistence farmers tilling tiny plots in impoverished rural areas such as the former homelands — but even in affluent jurisdictions where pot is legal, smaller producers are finding the costs of entry prohibitive.
