Zimbabwe clears the way for medical cannabis products

Zimbabwe has cleared the way for cannabis-based medical products to be sold for the first time as the southern African country looks at the industry value at Sh 148.5 billion $1.25 billion. The medicines control of Zimbabwe MCZ has opened applications for cannabis and hemp producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, and retail pharmacists.

In 2018 the debt-ridden nation became one of the first African countries to legalise cannabis, but little has been done since to allow commercial production of the drug.

The MCZ has released regulations that will guide investments in the sector as the country sanctioned by the West, banks on the growing global cannabis market.

The country, which is one of the leading producers of tobacco in the world, is considering a shift from the golden leaf to cannabis as the global tobacco ban lobby continues to gather momentum.

By the year 2025, industry players have set a target for tobacco farmers to ensure that cannabis contributes a quarter of their income.

The country earned Sh 97.29 billion $819 million from tobacco exports last year, making it one of Zimbabwe's biggest foreign currency earners.

In the year 2019 Zimbabwe abolished the ban on cultivation of cannabis for commercial purposes and granted the first license for medical cannabis production the same year.

The country exported 30 tons of industrial hemp to Switzerland last year.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa this year commissioned Sh 3.2 billion $27 million medical cannabis farm and processing plant owned by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited.

He said that 57 entities had been issued cannabis production licenses and 15 of them were already operational.

Advocates of the use of cannabis-based products say they can be used to treat chronic pain, inflammation, migraines, epilepsy, depression and anxiety, among other ailments.

The use of cannabis for recreational purposes remains banned in Zimbabwe and thousands of people have been arrested this year for illegally cultivating the crop as the country tries to fight rampant drug abuse among young people.