“We are free after a thousand years Rastafari, we are free”, shouted an excited man in the constitutional court once judgement was made about the decriminalization of the private use of dagga. It was found by the court that the criminalization of private use of dagga was in fact unconstitutional, echoing the sentiments expressed in the 2017 Western Cape high court judgment by Judge Dennis Davis that found a ban on the use of dagga at home was against the constitutional right to privacy.
The judgement is significant in that it will affect hundreds of thousands of dagga smokers, and an estimated 900 000 community of dagga growers. Even though it has been a long battle, spanning almost a decade of court applications, and not without adversaries in opposition to the plant, the legalization of dagga was always inevitable, it was only a question of time and creating the correct regulatory framework within which dagga and those who enjoy it for leisure, rely on it for medicinal purposes, or engage it culturally could do so without the imposition of the law.
Although the high court ruling has managed to polarize national opinions on the legal use of the plant, and parliament has been tasked to provide the legal framework within which the use, sale, cultivation and transportation of the plant would exist, what the judgment has also invited into the landscape of national discourse is discussions surrounding the potential for innovation. It was recently reported by the Sunday Times that Coca-Cola is presently entertaining the use of Cannabidiol extracts in their range of “wellness beverages”. The paper defines Cannabidiol as a “chemical in marijuana that does not have the intoxicating effects of THC” the latter being most associated with the potent effects of dagga. Interestingly Cannabidiol has been found to have numerous health benefits which include Pain relief; Anti-Seizure Properties; Anxiety Combatants; Cancer fighting propensities; Reduction in onslaught of Diabetes; and relief from sleep deprivation (see https://www.canabomedicalclinic.com/5-health-benefits-cbd-oils/)
The Sunday Times further reported that Coca-Cola had noticed a reduction in sales due to the ever-growing global health- conscious narrative that has had an impact on traditional food products and their manufacturers.
Only four years ago the World Health Organization introduced the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023, which they say “reappraises and builds on the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002–2005, and sets out the course for Traditional Medicine and Complementary Medicine in the next decade.” This commitment by a body of such stature was an illustration that IKS should not be misunderstood as primitive or inconsequential, but that like Western discourses, indigenous practices are deserving of recognition and due diligence, because after all even though the WHO admits to primarily basing its research on the principles of Western medicine at the neglect of traditional medicine and care, it contends that “at least 30%–40% of care is delivered in a traditional medicine setting.” (WHO moves to classify traditional medicines; CMAJ; v (183; 2); 2011).
It is important to raise this four-year-old development in light of the recent ConCourt ruling to attest to the evolution of IKS from so called dark age into a globally reckonable industry. Although the regulatory framework may take a while, it is important to consider that sub-Saharan has optimal climate conditions for the growth of dagga, moreover many cultural groups are already custodians of the plant with great insight into its various uses, in this light there could be great potential for export and innovation with direct impacts on growth of economic capacity, and inclusion.