DAGGA CAN ALLEVIATE POVERTY, BOOST SD ECONOMY – UK MAG

LOBAMBA – Can Swaziland play a role in making the African continent become the next cannabis powerhouse?

This question arises from an article published by UK Magazine, Dope, last Thursday to the effect that Africa was poised to be the world’s next dagga powerhouse.

The magazine, which covers the development of the legal cannabis industry globally, mentioned that as of 2005, the continent had produced more than 10 500 tonnes of cannabis each year in 19 out of 53 countries.

It said the amount accounted for roughly 25 per cent of the total global production of cannabis and that an estimated 38.2 million African adults (77 per cent of the adult population) used the herb each year, which it said was far more than the world average of 3.8 per cent.
The magazine stated that most African countries had been hesitant to embrace the rapidly expanding market for legal cannabis despite that the continent had produced cannabis for generations.

Reference was made to the poverty situation in most African countries including Swaziland and it was argued that the business of cannabis could play a major role in improving the lives of thousands.

“For example‚ in Swaziland deep poverty can still be found in many rural areas‚ and cannabis is already responsible for helping some families survive,” it stated.

In the magazine, Swaziland was listed as one of the countries where there was a possibility of cannabis becoming the saviour of the economy.
It stated that the tide was turning in countries such as Swaziland, Morocco and Malawi in that the economic argument in favour of legal cultivation was eventually likely to win out.

Furthermore, the magazine acknowledged that while the impact would be different for each country on the continent, there was no doubt that for some of the poorest residents, the benefits would be substantial.

“In Morocco, the hashish trade employs more than 800 000 people, according to Bloomberg, and it’s worth US$10 billion a year in sales. Malawi is known for high quality marijuana production, including the ‘Malawi Gold’ strain. Plus, the country is now cultivating hemp on a trial basis. In Swaziland, prominent public figures have come out in favour of cannabis to help boost the struggling economy,” reads part of the article.

The magazine made reference to the latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Report titled ‘Cannabis in Africa’ which highlighted how the highest levels of cannabis production in the world took place on the African continent in all the sub-regions, with major seizures made in North Africa (Morocco and Egypt), West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana), East Africa (Tanzania and Kenya), and Southern Africa (South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia).

“Swaziland is known for producing high-quality cannabis and the seed stock has been marketed internationally. In 2001, the Swazi police noted cannabis exportation to the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan, and this situation does not appear to have changed much more recently,” the UN report stated.

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