Until recently, the stigmatisation of medicinal cannabis was linked to it being deemed a hallucinogen, a category of drugs causing profound distortions in one’s perception of reality.
The flowering plants belong in the family Cannabaceae and has at least 1 200 street names (marijuana, weed, pot, etc.). With its iconic serrated-edged leaflets this ‘miracle’ plant may yet give the palm family, as the most versatile group of plants used by man, a run for its money.
Paving the way
The use and production of cannabis has been legalised gradually and in varying degrees in different countries. It is currently approved in at least 50 countries.
Interestingly, South Africa and Mexico seem to be running in the same race after the high courts in both countries legalised private cultivation of cannabis. In South Africa, the Constitutional Court ruled on 18 September 2018 that adults could legally grow, use and possess up to 600g dried cannabis for personal use, not to be sold or given away. Yet, the cultivation of commercial cannabis cultivars for recreational use, still remains illegal.
The South African government was given 24 months since its ruling to establish laws that would be in line with the Constitution in terms of cannabis use. The big question is whether South Africa will fully legalise cannabis in September this year, when government will decide on the amount of usage and whether the use of cannabis will remain restricted to private use only.
In Mexico, the Supreme Court ruled on 31 October 2018 (for the fifth time) that the law prohibiting the recreational use of cannabis was unconstitutional and the government was mandated to formally legalise cannabis within 90 days. However, on 17 April this year, Mexico's Supreme Court extended the deadline to 15 December 2020.
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