Africa’s first cannabis TV show hosted by Trenton Birch and Linda Siboto

Cannasphere Africa TV, a programme focusing on news and developments in the cannabis industry, has secured a slot on terrestrial broadcaster DSTV.  Cannasphere already has 36 live weekly You Tube episodes under its belt and is now ready to go to the next level. It has secured a weekly slot on DSTV from Tuesday June 2022 on Cape Community TV (CCTV) {Channel 263} at 21h00, with repeats on Thursdays at 08h30 and Sundays at 19h00.

Cannasphere Africa TV is Africa’s first TV show dedicated to all matters cannabis. It is a joint venture between Cheeba Africa’s Craft Cannabis TV and Cannabiz Africa in association with Cape Community TV. Hosted and produced by Cheeba Africa co-founders Trenton Birch and Linda Siboto, the show is a punchy and eclectic mix of news and content covering all the latest developments in cannabis from cloning to clinical trials and everything in between.

Birch is well known for his deep involvement in the South African music industry for over two decades. He was a radio and TV presenter and producer at the SABC for five years, a live music producer for Real Concerts and Big Concerts and an artist manager.  With Sabota, he co-founded Cheeba Africa, a cannabis education company that launched Africa’s first cannabis academy.

Siboto, aka Ninja, is an experienced producer, who says media has run through his blood for the past 20 years. He was one of the founding members of Youngpreneur Media, a production company that documented the stories of young entrepreneurs as an online video series called ‘I am Youngpreneur’, a show that was later commissioned by the SABC 3 under the name The Mavericks.

Cannabiz Africa will power the news

One of the key features of Cannasphere is its Limpopo newsdesk run by media veteran Brett Hilton-Barber, who founded Cannabiz Africa, a breaking news and content website covering the business of cannabis on the continent. Hilton-Barber provides his slightly quirky but incisive weekly insight into the latest news affecting the cannabis industry, keeping viewers up to date with the unfolding hard news stories that are shaping a new sunrise industry in the making. Hilton-Barber is a seasoned journalist who covered the Mandela presidency as political editor at Radio 702 and served as programme manager and acting station manager for Cape Talk Radio. He worked as content manager for iafrica.com and freelanced as a contributor to the BBC , AFP and Radio France and has written eight books on natural history and human origins.

Introducing Kush Queen Noxy Mhlongo

Cannasphere’s lifestyle celebrity is South Africa’s Kush Queen and social media star, Noxy Mhlongo. She covers the fascinating evolution of cannabis culture in South Africa and abroad, keeping track of the trends and key conversations, presenting Canna Lifestyle with her own personal twist. She began her cannabis journey by creating educational content on her YouTube channel where she shares videos that help the average person to understand what cannabis is and its benefits and broadcasts her slot from Gauteng.

Jeff Verlinden will handle B2B news and international developments

For the latest tech developments and the unfolding business of cannabis there is no better presenter than biochemist Jeff Verlinden. Verlinden is at the forefront of the cannabis B2B space and has been working with the pharmaceutical majors, SAHPRA and other cannabis clients in South Africa and into Africa.  Verlinden has a passion for cannabis extraction and formulation workflows along with all necessary testing analytics and an insight into all the big deals going down. His knowledge of the cannabis value chain, current international trends and developments are noteworthy and essential to anyone wanting to stay ahead in the game.

Dr Shiksha Gallow and Dr Carmen James are Cannasphere’s medicinal cannabis experts

CBD is changing the world. The overwhelming weight of scientific evidence of the medical and health benefits of cannabis have led to the wave of legalization sweeping the world. Cannasphere’s medical segment is co-presented by leading cannabis health authorities, Dr Carmen James and Dr Shiksha Gallow.  Dr James is an integrative medical doctor and health coach, passionate about breaking stigmas and showing how cannabis can help people positively transform their lives. Dr Gallow is the principle investigator in South Africa’s first ethically-approved clinic trials involving cannabis. 

The company she founded, Biodata, will be overseeing a study that will compare the efficacy of cannabis in treating chronic pain compared to opioids. Dr Gallow is also the founder of the medical company Holistic Integrative Healing Institute, and has deep experience of using cannabis to treat patients with various ailments such as cancer and autoimmune disease.

Grow with Cuban Zulu

South Africa is one of the few countries in the world where people are being encouraged to grow their own cannabis at home. It’s legal and it’s fun. And Kwanda Mtetwa, aka Cuban Zulu  is the guy to tell you how to get the best performance from your plants. Cuban Zulu is cultivator manager at Cheeba’s Gauteng Cannabis Academy, and a well-travelled cannabis connoisseur who is building a reputation as one of South Africa’s finest quality boutique growers. He was the first SAHPRA accredited medical cannabis patient in South Africa and brings his expansive practical knowledge to the show.

Birch keeps the high-calibre team on its toes in this fast-paced, highly visual entertaining show that is breaking new media ground. Cannabis is exciting. It’s emerging from the underground into the mainstream and it’s a new world where agriculture, tech, health, crime, the police, law, business, community development, job creation, poverty alleviation, industrialization, spirituality and politics all intersect with consequences that are often unforeseen.

Be part of the journey of discovery of how cannabis is transforming South Africa and the rest of the continent by tuning into Cannasphere every Tuesday night at 21h00 on DSTV Channel 263 from 7 June 2022.  Enjoy the ride.