According to a New Frontier Data report, Africa cannabis market shares over 10% of global cannabis demand and ranks fourth after Asia, North America and Europe. The socioeconomic effect of legalising cannabis would lead to lower government expenditure on law enforcement coupled with increased tax revenue, according to a thesis by Vladislav Lakcevic, an analytical strategy development professional who specialises in economic studies in Africa.

More than 10,000 tons of cannabis are produced on the continent each year, according to a UN survey, which advocates believe could be worth billions of dollars in a rapidly expanding global market for legal weed.

• In 2017, Lesotho became the continent’s first country to offer legal licenses to grow cannabis.
• In March 2017, the Medical Controls Council (MCC) has released its medical cannabis guidelines for the cultivation, production and use of medical cannabis in South Africa.
• Zimbabwe legalised growing cannabis for medicinal and research purposes in April 2018.
• In December 2019, Zambia legalized cannabis for export and medicinal purposes only.
• In January 2020, the Ugandan Ministry of Health approved the export of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
• In February 2020, Malawi’s parliament passed a bill making it legal to cultivate and process medical cannabis and hemp fibre.
• In May 2021, Morocco passed a law permitting the medical use of cannabis.
• In June 2021, Rwanda passed a new order legalising the cultivation, processing, and sale of medical cannabis.

Africa Cannabis Business Plan Sample

In the African Cannabis Report – produced by London-based advisory group Prohibition Partners – Africa’s cannabis market is projected to rise to $7.1bn as regulation and market conditions improve. It says Africa’s top producers by 2023 will be Nigeria with $3.7bn, South Africa $1.7bn, Morocco $900m, Lesotho $90m and Zimbabwe $80m.