Rastas in Botswana are requesting the government to go one step further and legalise the recreational use of cannabis. This follows the country’s government’s concerted efforts to inaugurate a cannabis economy after it partially legalised cannabis late last year.

The government has adopted a draft policy to formalise the cultivation, processing and exporting of medicinal cannabis and to create a parallel hemp-based industry to meet local demand for sustainable and affordable products such as textiles and construction material.

The guidelines include the designation of a National Cannabis Control Authority to ensure regulatory enforcement and collaboration among stakeholders but insist on maintaining existing prohibitions on recreational use.

Botswana currently prohibits the production, distribution and use of narcotics and psychotropic substances under the Illicit Traffic in Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (2018), which forbids all forms of cannabis use.

However, full legalisation should be the way to go, say Rastafarian leaders. In a statement to Cannabis Africa, Rastafari United Front (RUF) of Botswana Secretary General Selekanyo Masunga (pictured above), said his organisation was pleased with the government’s decision to legalise the cultivation of cannabis but was also of the view that it was high time the ban on recreational use was lifted so Botswana could join the list of countries that have legislated personal use.

South Africa is the only African country to allow for restricted personal use and possession, in terms of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, 2024.

Even so, Rastafarians across South Africa have demanded leeway and preferential treatment before the law, citing religious and cultural rights protections which they say police are violating through unwarranted arrests and raids on holy sites.

Masunga, also known as Ras Sly, said his organisation was following the ongoing debate on cannabis policy in the country’s Parliament and expressed hope that Rastafarians would be a recognised stakeholder in the cannabis economy. “We are also waiting for a licence to join the cannabis industry,” he stated.

Ras Sly’s call for a piece of the cannabis pie echoes a demand by most Rastafarian movements in the region, with Rastafarians from South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia, which has yet to legalise cannabis, calling for inclusive legislation that would see broader participation in what to date has remained a mostly corporate-friendly domain.

For instance, Botswana had to recall original draft legislation after opposition politicians criticised the proposed regulations as not being inclusive enough to allow the participation of ordinary Batswana.

The government has said it expects a cannabis industry to address unemployment particularly amongst the youth while also creating jobs in rural areas and other sectors of the economy.

The new government under President Duma Boko has set its sights on inaugurating a vibrant cannabis industry, with a special focus on hemp production in order to reduce its import bill on products such as biomass and livestock feed, hempcrete, textiles and fabrics as well as to diversify a diamond-dependent economy.

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