Fields of Green for ALL has been involved with the Cannabis Africana – Drugs and Development in Africa – project since 2021. This is a collaboration between the Universities of Bristol and Cape Town. We were introduced to the project by our Criminology expert for The Trial of the Plant – Dr Simon Howell.
We are very grateful for the projects’ funding for me to attend a workshop in Bristol, UK earlier this month. Many have heard me say that South Africa needs to contribute to evidence-based laws and regulations in the rest of Africa. This project gives us the chance to do just that. The only discussions that seem to be happening around Cannabis in other parts of our continent are around the medicinal and industrial uses of the plant and, coupled with the “over-selling” of the economic benefits while criminalising of Adult Use, this remains a grave concern to us.
Our project has published four policy briefs and we are preparing to publish research findings and policy commentaries in a Special Edition of the International Journal of Drug Policy later in the year.
“In South Africa the project has conducted extensive research in various regions, including the Eastern Cape, Western cape, and Kwa-Zulu Natal. This research has utilised interviews, ethnographic research, and archival sources to delve into the socio-cultural dynamics of cannabis cultivation practices, rural and urban dynamics, with the aim of broadening our understanding of the cannabis landscape within the country.”
We gathered at the historically beautiful Bristol University to discuss how we can use the findings of the project to build a bridge between academics and activism. This is of particular interest to me as many of you would have heard me ranting about not being heard.
(Slide credits to Dr Simon Howell / Cannabis Africana Workshop)
Things have come full circle since the days of The Trial of the Plant as we have known since the beginning that the experts are essential in making ourselves heard so that we have a chance to make a difference in our communities. The team has come up with some innovative ways of connecting threads in this complicated issue of Cannabis on our continent and we look forward to sharing these with you in more detail as things unfold.
Personally, I had a great time in Bristol with a team of like-minded people and it is always a pleasure to be on the same page, be inspired and keep going on this interesting journey.
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