Article – The Guardian: Why is Lesotho’s cannabis boom failing to deliver the prosperity it promised?

Licences to grow are expensive and hard to come by, leaving small-time growers excluded from the economic benefits that were meant to be available to all….. Reports The Guardian

n Mapoteng, in north-western Lesotho, near the border with South Africa, on sloping landscapes that in winter are the colour of the donkeys that traverse them, cannabis grows – in hard-to-access ravines and in people’s front yards, alongside pea and spinach patches.

The plants are mostly hidden, because even though legislation in 2008 made it possible to grow cannabis for medical or scientific purposes in Lesotho, doing so without a licence from the health ministry, and for recreational use, remains illegal.

By the time the first licences were issued in 2017, Teboho Mohale* had just finished high school. Except for a police station and the Maluti Adventist hospital, which employ a handful of people, there are few job opportunities in Mapoteng. So, Mohale started planting matekoane (cannabis) to sell to local people. Five years on, he still does not have a licence and at a cost of 500,000 maloti (about £23,000), he doubts he will ever get one.

He and other Basotho people, many of whom have grown cannabis for decades, say only the elite and multinationals have benefited from the legislation that was heralded as something that would spread the economic gains among many.

In the 2019 African Cannabis Report, Lesotho’s industry was projected to be worth at least $92m (£76m) by 2023. Yet Mohale and others, whose plants take eight months to mature in open fields, say they have been left out of the booming industry.

Read the full report

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/feb/15/lesotho-cannabis-boom-failing-to-deliver-prosperity

 

Cannvalate is a group of medical doctors and leaders in the medical cannabis industry. Based in Melbourne, we love to help patients to access products...

 Medical Cannabis / Featured

Established in 2012 The Vault have risen to become the best known and trusted cannabis seed shop in the world. We are passionate about delivering fanatical...

 Seed

Certified organic CBD oil, multivitamins, vegan skin care and premium supplements for beauty and wellbeing. for the Ageless is a UK store specialising in CBD...

 CBD / Featured

Phoenix Cannabis Seeds was founded by several cannabis aficionados whose goal it was to source high quality inbred, hybrid and landrace cannabis strains and bring...

 Seed / Featured

Page 1 of 4