Cannabis Can Help South Africa

Fields of Green for ALL is proud to present a practical, cost-effective, enforceable, constitutionally sound, human rights-based model for Cannabis policy reform in South Africa.

The South African Cannabis market, post legalisation, will have many facets and dynamics across a wide spectrum of products, the specifics of which will be dictated by supply and demand. From quality control to promoting responsible use and legal supply, each of these aspects will need to be proactively considered to ensure that strong foundations of the formal Cannabis economy are built in alignment with the Six Ethical Principles.

According to the ethics of policy coherence, regulation of registered Cannabis medicines and the industrial use of the Cannabis plant are contemplated by this model, but are not a primary focus of this document. The regulation of these sectors is likely to fall under existing and impending medical and agricultural initiatives.

Let’s start with the supply chain…

In order to give some structure to our evidence for The Trial of the Plant, Fields of Green for ALL has always referred to the Four Platforms of the use of Cannabis in South Africa:

  • Responsible Adult Use
  • Traditional, Cultural & Religious Uses
  • Industrial Uses
  • Health Uses

However, progress towards legal regulation and the nature of our proposed market model have led us to identify Four Pillars that need to support the Full Spectrum Model: 

Constitutional Rights Pillar  

Already established as a solid foundation by the Constitutional Court judgment of September 2018, this pillar incorporates all responsible use by adults. It is our wish that fair regulations for ALL South Africans will modify the need for strictly enforced “privacy” and “private spaces” for use and cultivation of Cannabis. This pillar incorporates all traditional, cultural, religious & health uses uses of the plant, outside of pharmaceutical products and adult use commercial activity.  The cornerstone of this pillar is South Africa’s Dagga Private Clubs.

Adult Use Commercial Regulation Pillar 

In order to boost our economy – #CannabisCanHelpSA –  the cornerstone of this pillar is our Cannabis Hubs, overseen by the Cannabis OmBUDsman of South Africa.

It is very urgent, in the light of the 2020 Covid-19 crisis, that South Africans are allowed to trade in Cannabis and that trade regulations are FAIR and accessible to ALL.

Industrial Cannabis Agro-Industry Pillar 

Already in the making, it is important to note with regards to “Hemp” that the current discussions around THC threshold levels for Industrial Cannabis are fatally flawed and will hamper the development of this industry.

Medical Pillar

Already in the making but please note that there are thousands of applications for the use of Cannabis for one’s health. The Medical Pillar ONLY deals with registered pharmaceutical products and not with the responsible use of Cannabis by adults in order to benefit their health.

The table below illustrates the way in which the four pillars support the proposed Cannabis regulatory model in order to include all citizens and communities, to cover demand, and to leave no-one behind

This table is a work in progress & we will focus on the main elements in upcoming blog articles.