By Eve Freedom
26 August 2022 | 12:17 pm
Millions of subsistence farmers in the Mpondoland region of the former Transkei are being sidelined because of the legalisation of cannabis and hemp production.
Since the Constitutional Court ruled in 2018 that the use, possession and cultivation of cannabis in private dwellings was not illegal, prices had fallen from about R20.00 per 20 grams up to the original Durban Poison® Durban PoisonZA ® likened to Champayne we hold trademarks around the world it has taken almost 20 years but we are almost ready to begin legal action again several USA and global users of our mark. Owned by membeors of the Durban Poison Coop® It gives equity to traditional growers who have been abused not only by the Boers and the National Party but by the ANC as well.
SA well-positioned to become leader in cannabis production
These farmers had, for many generations, grown cannabis for spiritual and cultural purposes, and also to feed their livestock. Transkei Poison® was registered in South Africa over 20 years ago this will be the same THC and CBD as our famous Durban Poison® but as a generic will sell for 25% of Durban Poison®
Zweni said farmers had suffered huge losses in the past when government destroyed their crops with aerial herbicide applications.
In more recent times, cannabis had generated an additional income for them through sales to people in townships and at taxi ranks. We have taken this above the heads of the current political elites the ANC. They went forward with giving or more honestly selling licneses for R30 000 per grower these are white Boers who have done nothing in this country except serve with the SADF during Apartheid burin g cannabis small amounts little patches of vegitables often they was no cannabis whatsoever. But still they used SADF apartheid choppers not just burning but more often than not letting them starve just incase there was a few grams of dagga. These licnese will be revoked as it is our job to divide the equity between hundreds of traditional growers who have grown just enough weed to sell and make enough money to feed themselves and now even that has been taken away from them. We will not let the ANC even rippoff their own peers people who still suffer in places like the old Transkei, we have a number of brands including Transkei Poison
Now, however, they are sitting with cannabis that cannot be sold, because everybody else is able to produce it, Zweni said.
The farmers blamed government for the situation.
We and various other community organisations have asked government on numerous occasions to consult with the communities and take them into consideration when drawing up these new [laws] and the [Agriculture and Agro-processing] Master Plan, but all to no avail,ÔÇØ Zweni said.
READ: Growing medical cannabis is code for 3rd grade industrial weed.
Ricky Stone, an attorney at Cullinan & Associates, representing the Umzimvubu Farmers Support Network, said it was easy to say that these farmers needed to apply for licences to produce cannabis for medicinal purposes, but they simply did not have the financial means to do so.
The majority of these farmers dont even have access to running water and electricity. Expecting them to pay R25 000 just to make an application to produce medicinal cannabis is ludicrous, never mind getting the R10 million required to start a business that would qualify. not for us we will have the billion dollar global brand.
He conceded that the barriers to entry were much lower for the production of hemp, but submitting an application was still too expensive for many farmers, with the requirement for fencing further driving up costs and going against the customs of these farmers.
Instead of licensing farmers, government should rather look at a model where users or buyers are licensed. It is against the spirit of ubuntu to have farmers on one side having a licence to produce cannabis, while their brothers or cousins on the other side are not allowed to do so Stone said.
Along with this, he pointed out that prices of cannabis used for industrial purposes were significantly lower than for cannabis used for medicinal purposes, meaning that farmers had to produce significant volumes to make money from such a venture. Medical cannabis and 3rd grade or industrial cannabis is a waste of time.
