South Africa’s government has announced that it will appeal the country’s recent High Court ruling which decriminalized private, small-scale cannabis cultivation and consumption on a personal level.
On March 31st, the Western Cape High Court stated that the ban on cannabis in its present form was not constitutional. As a result of that decision, the government of the country was ordered to change the narcotics act to allow for the non-public consumption and private cultivation of cannabis. The government and parliament were given two years to legally anchor the court’s verdict.
Cannabis supporters celebrated the verdict immediately after its promulgation as a historic victory. But now, several government officials and the country’s law enforcement agencies have announced their intention to appeal within the statutory deadline. Despite lofty title, South Africa’s Western Cape High Court is not the highest authority in South Africa. A verdict may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal or the Constitutional Court of Appeal.
In their reasoning, government representatives argued that the High Court has only referred to the right to privacy, although this aspect was not addressed in the application filed by Rastafarian lawyer Gareth Prince. The appeal also states that the Court of First Instance rejects the evidence presented by the State, in particular that of a pharmacist holding five academic degrees. Because of the appeal, the High Court’s verdict remains in limbo.
US producer supports medical cannabis in South Africa
Unlike recreational cannabis, the introduction of a law on the use of medical cannabis seems to be imminent in South Africa. The government has already given the go-ahead for the production of cannabis for medical use. A glance behind the scenes reveals interesting facts. The originally South African company Plandai Biotechnologies, which has moved its headquarters to Utah, seems to be the leading candidate for the cultivation of medical cannabis in South Africa.
US producer Diego Pellicer wanted to invest in Uruguay right after the legalization of cannabis in 2013, but apparently the brand was too lifestyle-oriented to obtain a state license for cannabis cultivation. In February 2014, it was announced that Plandaí had completed a deal with Diego Pellicer that allowed it to market its “Phytofare” cannabis extracts under the Diego Pellicer gold brand. In the same month, Ex-Microsoft Manager and Pellicer co-founder Jamen Shively joined the Board of Directors of Plandai Biotechnology. In the short-term, this partnership was expected to help transition the firm from a research-driven company to a production and sales operation.
Plandai was also given a growing license in Uruguay and has been developing cannabis for medical purposes in Montevideo since 2015. The company is also involved in Uruguay’s research program to develop highly-effective cannabis extracts to be marketed as cannabis drugs under the name of “Phytofare.” Shively held the role of vice president at Plandai from 2014 to 2016.
Plandai is currently focused on the development of green tea extracts using GMO techniques to modify the product’s bioavailability. For this purpose, the company uses naturally grown, GMO-free tea. According to the company’s video, the bioavailability of the leaves’ active ingredients is increased by protein synthesis during further processing by protein biosynthesis. Protein biosynthesis is called Genetic Engineering (aka: manipulation) in a colloquial manner. Thus, Plandai Biotechnology has so far been the only company that already has experience with GMO techniques and is focusing on cannabis research.
The alleged threat of Monsanto-developed cannabis seeds has so far not been nearly as specific as the one of a company like Plandia that is already offering GMO products, focusing on medical cannabis, and actively researching it. Especially after the acquisition of Monsanto, it is conceivable that the German Bayer Group also has plans for the development of cannabis medicines with the help of Monsanto. Bayer already enabled the Sativex producer GW-Pharmaceuticals to develop and launch the cannabis spray. But unlike the small company in South Africa, Monsanto is not involved in a country’s medical cannabis program.
The international cannabis ban origins in South Africa
South Africa was one of the few countries that, alongside Egypt, urged the use of cannabis prohibition in international drug treaties. In 1925, the delegate from South Africa demanded that cannabis be subjected to the same control mechanisms as opium at the Geneva Opium Conference. In contrast to other Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand or Canada, Whites were a minority in South Africa and the political rights of the Black and Indian majority of the population were severely restricted. With the ban on cannabis, the upper class had a simple tool to suppress the majorities’ favored substance. The ban on cannabis persisted in South Africa through the end of the racial segregation in 1994, even though cannabis possession and cultivation are widespread. Cannabis is now cultivated in large quantities both in the Republic of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Region and in Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and other neighboring countries.
credit:marijuana.com
