Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
A Soweto scientist aims to take advantage of the government's decision to allow the growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
On Wednesday, the Medicines Control Council (MCC) announced that it would approve regulations for the growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes in the next few weeks.
An elated Dr Thandeka Ruth Kunene, a mathematician and self-styled "Cannabis Queen of the South", wants to be among the first to benefit from the government's decision.
Kunene said she had been helping communities prepare for the approval of the regulations, showing them how to apply for permits and setting up her company, Queen of Hemp, to be a global leader in the production of medical cannabis.
She started House of Hemp in Diepkloof, Soweto, buying and selling fabric from India and China but later decided to grow hemp, some of which was turned into fabric fiber to make clothing items.
Kunene, through the Indigenous African Cannabis Incubator, had been at the forefront of efforts to recruit landowners and farmers to partner with her and apply for legal cannabis/ hemp permits.
Hemp and cannabis (as dagga and marijuana are commonly known) are both part of the Cannabis sativa plant species, but according to Kunene, hemp has lower concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and higher concentrations of Cannabidiol (CBD).
Kunene said in dagga high levels of the component THC was what made people high after smoking it.
According to Kunene, House of Hemp makes use of CBD to produce seeds, seed oil and fiber.
The medicinal CBD oil was hemp's most lucrative product which could be used to manage epilepsy and cancer, among other ailments.
Kunene's permit to run her legal medical cannabis greenhouse at the Dube Trade Port near Durban's King Shaka International Airport expired in April.
However, she said by that time she had already completed her research into medical cannabis.
Kunene said the Dube Trade Port site produced medical CBD hemp oil and plans to develop world-class pharmaceuticals.
"We're ready. We're setting ourselves to be the global leader in medical cannabis," she said.
Last Thursday, Kunene and her brother Daluxolo hosted between 150 and 200 interested landowners and farmers at the Donaldson Orlando Community Centre in Soweto.
Another meeting is scheduled for the same venue on Sunday.
"We want to help farmers get into the industry," said Kunene.
However, she fired a warning that all cannabis-growing provinces in South Africa, already the world's second largest supplier of illegal dagga after Mexico, must benefit from the MCC's decision as it involved labor-intensive farming.
"It must not only be open to white capitalists, black economic empowerment moguls, Chinese and Indian merchants. There must be a lot of beneficiaries," she said.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Apache Tomcat/7.0.26 - Error report
Author: Loyiso Sidimba
Contact: Contact Us - Sowetan LIVE
Photo Credit: Bill Roth
Website: SowetanLIVE
On Wednesday, the Medicines Control Council (MCC) announced that it would approve regulations for the growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes in the next few weeks.
An elated Dr Thandeka Ruth Kunene, a mathematician and self-styled "Cannabis Queen of the South", wants to be among the first to benefit from the government's decision.
Kunene said she had been helping communities prepare for the approval of the regulations, showing them how to apply for permits and setting up her company, Queen of Hemp, to be a global leader in the production of medical cannabis.
She started House of Hemp in Diepkloof, Soweto, buying and selling fabric from India and China but later decided to grow hemp, some of which was turned into fabric fiber to make clothing items.
Kunene, through the Indigenous African Cannabis Incubator, had been at the forefront of efforts to recruit landowners and farmers to partner with her and apply for legal cannabis/ hemp permits.
Hemp and cannabis (as dagga and marijuana are commonly known) are both part of the Cannabis sativa plant species, but according to Kunene, hemp has lower concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and higher concentrations of Cannabidiol (CBD).
Kunene said in dagga high levels of the component THC was what made people high after smoking it.
According to Kunene, House of Hemp makes use of CBD to produce seeds, seed oil and fiber.
The medicinal CBD oil was hemp's most lucrative product which could be used to manage epilepsy and cancer, among other ailments.
Kunene's permit to run her legal medical cannabis greenhouse at the Dube Trade Port near Durban's King Shaka International Airport expired in April.
However, she said by that time she had already completed her research into medical cannabis.
Kunene said the Dube Trade Port site produced medical CBD hemp oil and plans to develop world-class pharmaceuticals.
"We're ready. We're setting ourselves to be the global leader in medical cannabis," she said.
Last Thursday, Kunene and her brother Daluxolo hosted between 150 and 200 interested landowners and farmers at the Donaldson Orlando Community Centre in Soweto.
Another meeting is scheduled for the same venue on Sunday.
"We want to help farmers get into the industry," said Kunene.
However, she fired a warning that all cannabis-growing provinces in South Africa, already the world's second largest supplier of illegal dagga after Mexico, must benefit from the MCC's decision as it involved labor-intensive farming.
"It must not only be open to white capitalists, black economic empowerment moguls, Chinese and Indian merchants. There must be a lot of beneficiaries," she said.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Apache Tomcat/7.0.26 - Error report
Author: Loyiso Sidimba
Contact: Contact Us - Sowetan LIVE
Photo Credit: Bill Roth
Website: SowetanLIVE
