amaMpondo traditional leaders reject Private Use Cannabis Bill
The cannabis farmers want the Bill to open more economic doors for them, and not one that will smother their business
Saturday, October 10, 2020
Traditional leaders from the amaMpondo nation and cannabis farmers in the Eastern Cape have rejected the Private Use Cannabis Bill. They are calling for a comprehensive consultation process that must also be extended to the indigenous cannabis farmers in deep rural areas. The area known as Mpondoland is the cannabis belt of South Africa. Cultivating and selling cannabis provides a livelihood to many here. Now they believe that the new bill threatens their only means of generating an income. Cannabis farmers says the Bill proposes that a household will only be allowed to have up to eight plants for private use. “We have been planting cannabis in our fatherland here in Pondoland. Now there are restrictions that prohibit us from using and selling it. The restrictions seek to deprive us and enrich the rich.”
