Holy herb is a non-issue for most political parties

Only a handful of the parties contesting the 29 May national and provincial elections have identified the promotion of South Africa’s cannabis industry as an concern in their manifestos released in the past few months.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has put in place a national cannabis master plan, while parliament has passed the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, paving the way for the creation of a legal commercial cannabis industry.

The industry, which is still partially illegal, is estimated to be valued at about R400 million by 2026, and Ramahosa said in 2022 that it had the potential to create 130000 jobs.

Despite this, the ANC pays no attention to the matter in its manifesto.

The governing party makes a broad reference to cultivating partnerships to expand domestic industries with the potential to create sustainable jobs in the “green and blue economies” but its offering to potential voters on the matter begin and end there.

Neither the Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, the United Democratic Movement, Freedom Front Plus, Build One South Africa nor the African Transformation Movement pay attention to the issue.

The Good party and the African Christian Democratic Party also do not share their thoughts on cannabis with the voting population in their manifestos.

But new entrant Rise Mzansi does, saying that should it end up in government, it will create an environment in which the industrial, medical and recreational cannabis sectors can flourish.

“We will put in place an enabling regulatory environment for the industrial hemp and medical and recreational cannabis industries, with focus on enabling small, black, womenowned and rural businesses to participate in this growth opportunity,” the party says in its manifesto.

Actionsa, which makes its first foray beyond local government this election, believes that cannabis can be used to drive up South Africa’s exports as part of its strategy to increase investment and trade.

In its manifesto, the party says it will reform the Protect of Investment Act to “reduce bureaucratic barriers and remove excessive limitations” to foreign direct investment.

“We will support South African industries to increase the profits gained from our exports,” Actionsa says.

“These industries will include manufacturing, green energy, cannabis, aviation fuel, mining and agriculture.”

The Inkatha Freedom Party says it will support the expansion of the industrial cannabis and hemp industries, which the party says will be a “catalyst for local economic growth and job creation”.

Jeremy Acton, founder of Iqela Lentsango: The Dagga Party of South Africa, says it will once again not be on the ballot.

The party, founded in 2009, failed to secure registration with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in 2014 and 2019 because it could not raise the registration fee.

But the party entered into an alliance with

African Democratic Change to contest the poll in 2019.

Acton said this week the movement had not registered this time around because of the conditions imposed on new parties to secure thousands of signatures to be allowed onto the ballot.

“After the IEC sprung on us the requirement of 14000 signatures in three weeks, I decided I wasn’t even going to bother,” Acton said. “This was totally beyond our IT and technical and organisational capabilities.”

He said it was positive that three parties had mentioned cannabis as a resource for possible economic benefit.

“It is going to be the only resource that can save our economy in the final economic crunch that is coming,” he said.

“It could already have been a major tourism driver, and already be preventing hunger in South African homes, but our state and all parties in parliament are owned and controlled by big money and Big Pharma interests, so they will not promote cannabis.”

Acton said of the cannabis bill in its current form: “The state does not even recognise the people’s rights to use cannabis privately, so they will never willingly enable any unlocking of economic and financial rights that benefit the public.”