Cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

is a traditional crop that remains illegal for any use, but largely tolerated. The plant is known as ''matekoane'' in

Sesotho language Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language. Like all Bantu languages, Sesotho is ...

but also called ''khomo ea fatše'', ''likata'' or ''kakana''. Cannabis is widely produced in the country, being the nation's most significant

cash-crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsistence crop") ...

. In the 2000s it was estimated that 70% of the cannabis in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

originated in Lesotho. In 2017 Lesotho became the first African nation to grant a license for the cultivation of medical cannabis.

History and culture

Cannabis use dates back to at least the 16th century in Lesotho, when the Koena people traded cannabis to the local San tribes in exchange for land around 1550. By the 19th century, cannabis was a staple crop in the kingdom. Until this day, ''Cannabis'' remains cultivated almost everywhere in Lesotho, including the capital, but the primary cultivation is in the central mountain zones and western foothills.

Legislation

In 2008, the ''Drugs of Abuse Act'' replaced Lesotho's ''Dangerous Medicines Act'' of 1973, bringing the country in line with international drugs policy standards, including the 1961

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (Single Convention, 1961 Convention, or C61) is an international treaty that controls activities (cultivation, production, supply, trade, transport) involving specific narcotic drugs and lays down a ...

. The Drug of Abuse (Cannabis) Regulations Act of 2018 was the latest amendemt to cannabis legislation in the country.

Enforcement

In one joint South African-Lesotho operation in 2006, 47 tons of cannabis were seized. Cultivation is for the most part tolerated, however, due to the high rate of poverty in the nation and the economic benefits that the cannabis trade provides.

Medical cannabis reform

In 2017, the Lesotho Ministry of Health licensed a South African firm to grow cannabis in Lesotho for medical and scientific purposes, the first such authorized establishment in Africa. In late 2017/early 2018, the Lesotho government licensed 5 companies to produce

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...

. Three of these companies have been partially, or entirely acquired by established licensed Canadian producers: * Verve Dynamics - roughly 30% ownership by Aphria (Canada) * MediGrow Lesotho - 10% acquired by Supreme Cannabis (Canada) * Daddy-Cann - 100% acquired by Canopy Growth (Canada) * Medi-Kingdom - 100% owned Medi-Kingdom (UK) * Pharmaceuticals Development Corp (PDC) - Now owned by Corix (US) *Bophelo Bioscience and Wellness PTY - 20% acquired by Halo Labs Inc (Canada) *WeGROW Medical Cannabis Lesotho- 80% owned by ASIF420 (Israel

The reform has been criticised for failing to "provide opportunities for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to venture into the Cannabis business". Scholars found "questionable whether the Lesotho government are acting with due regard for its most vulnerable rural households, who have now long depended on cannabis cultivation to support themselves" and activists have regretted that

Cannabis remains illegal for the citizens ��and this means that Basotho ��people are not allowed to use, possess or cultivate Cannabis, nor are they allowed to access Cannabis products for their own benefit, whether for industrial, traditional, religious, medicinal or adult use. ��Lesotho citizens continue to be arrested on the street and in their homes whilst large quantities of Cannabis cross the border every day into South Africa.

Bioprospecting

As many other African countries, Lesotho is a country where traditional ''Cannabis'' plant varieties (strains) have been grown for generations. Because these varieties are often bioprospected, there has been complaints that cannabis strains are "now being exported across the world, most often with no benefit to the local communities who have been tending these genetics for generations" making it a genetic resource at risk of

biopiracy Biopiracy (also known as scientific colonialism ) is the unauthorized appropriation of knowledge and genetic resources of farming and indigenous communities by individuals or institutions seeking exclusive monopoly control through patents or in ...

History and culture

Legislation

Enforcement

Medical cannabis reform

Bioprospecting

References

Further reading