Black farmers demand licences to grow marijuana

BLACK farmers marched on Pretoria yesterday, claiming they are being excluded from marijuana licenses in favour of rich, white-owned businesses.

The Black Farmers Association of South Africa accused the minister of health of issuing licenses to white people and foreigners to their exclusion.

“Dr Zweli Mkhize is to blame for the monopolisation of the cannabis industry because it is he who grants the licences to the white-owned companies and if that is the truth then Dr Mkhize must step down,” the association said in a statement.

The community – which includes “monarchs, traditional healers, rural agriculture and Rastafarians” – have been unable to obtain licenses from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, BFASA said.

The regulator denied the claims, saying it issues licenses to “all applicants equally and with respect”. It added that the health minister is not involved “in any way” with operational processes.

The Constitutional Court decriminalised the personal use and cultivation of cannabis in 2018. Rural black farmers have been growing it for decades but say they are not benefitting from the rapidly expanding legal industry.