Following the lacklustre, if not depressing performance of our economy, pre and post the pandemic, has required the government to fast track and develop industry masterplans for various sectors, one of which being Cannabis. The National Cannabis Master Plan will provide a broad framework for the development and growth of this industry and as part of the masterplan process, the Economic Research and Coordination unit of Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the DTIC) invited qualified and experienced research organisations, policy practitioners and research specialists to submit proposals to facilitate and develop the National Cannabis Master Plan.

Fields of Green for ALL submitted a RFP (Request for Proposal) to include our updated Manifesto to be used as a guiding document in the development of South Africa’s Cannabis Master Plan. The Manifesto has been written and revised over the past decade and aligns significantly with the Cannabis Master Plan. We are not aware of any body of work, published or in development, which can lay claim to this.

Through applying for the Manifesto to be a guiding document, we wish to contribute a large body of evidence and locally relevant research and thus lessen the load for the authors of the Cannabis Master Plan and, hopefully, speed up the process. The Manifesto has taken an evidence-based approach, collaborating with highly respected international and local researchers with all sources fully referenced.

We look forward to engaging and creating an open dialogue between Fields of Green for ALL, Government and all relevant stakeholders.

We would like to say a special thank you to our amazingly talented design team duo Lois and Keith Mckay (www.merchondemand.co.za) who not only are involved in the layout and design of the new Manifesto, but also designed our RFP submission under very tight deadlines.