4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    A Critical Inquiry into The Ethical Justification(s) For Decriminalising Cannabis Use In South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Moolla, Sadiyyah; Attoe, Aribiah David
    The right to privacy, as contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, grants individuals the right to engage in certain activities, insofar as those activities are private, without infringement by individuals or the state. The said right is what was relied upon by the Constitutional Court in the decision to decriminalize Cannabis, for private use. However, there is a marked difference between that which is legal and that which is moral. In this thesis, I will grapple with the ethical justifications for the decriminalization of Cannabis. Using the Ubuntu ethical theory, I will show that there is in fact no ethical justification for impeding on a moral agent’s right to consume cannabis. I will begin by providing some arguments for and against the legalisation of cannabis use, showing their merits and their demerits. I will then provide an account of Ubuntu ethics and show how its tenets bear on the right to consume cannabis.
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    Bam-Msimang, N.Y, The impact of government intervention on promoting small-scale commercial cannabis farmers in South Africa The impact of government intervention on promoting small-scale commercial cannabis farmers in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Bam-Msimang, Nomamiyandile; Moloi, Tsele
    This study explored the impact of government interventions aimed at promoting small- scale commercial cannabis farmers in South Africa. A semi-structured interview tool made up of thirteen open-ended questions was used to collect qualitative data from a study group of ten participants. The study group consisted of purposively sampled two policymakers and eight small-scale cannabis farmers. Participants’ responses were first recorded after obtaining their consent and afterwards transcribed. The qualitative data was inductively and thematically analysed to generate several main themes and sub-themes. These themes and sub-themes provided a deeper understanding and insights that highlighted the impact of government intervention on promoting small- scale commercial cannabis farmers in South Africa. The study findings revealed that despite the current government policies such as the Cannabis Master Plan and Phakisa Initiative aimed at deregulating commercial cannabis small-scale farmers still face considerable exclusion from this economic activity. To begin with, most small-scale farmers still face entry barriers that linked to legal, licence compliance and market competitiveness challenges. In addition, commercial cannabis farming has thus far failed to act as a driver for job creation and poverty alleviation in rural areas. This study found that the main cause of challenges faced by small-scale commercial farmers in this country has much to do the way government interventions are ineffectively implemented by various stakeholders. At most these interventions are marked by low levels of coordination, collaboration, and political will among officials tasked with implementing policies like the Cannabis Master Plan. Finally, the study made recommendations that can lead to increased effectiveness of government interventions and thus promote small-scale commercial cannabis farming in this country. Examples of these recommendations being conducting more awareness campaigns to sensitise law enforcers and rural cannabis small-scale farmers about commercial cannabis legislative frameworks, efforts to include rural farmers into formal cannabis supply chain and increase market competitiveness and accessibility thereof.
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    The political geography of hemp Cannabis in South Africa: A development critique
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-06) Moore, Wendell; Mnwana, Sonwabile; Wafer, Alex
    The discourse on Cannabis that is generally understood in the public domain, revolves mostly around its recreational uses and more recently its medicinal potential. The plants industrial usages and overall worth to society are often framed in relation to these more popular parts of Cannabis. The study focuses its attention on hemp Cannabis to tell a different story but acknowledges that all the uses of Cannabis are interlinked. Using an extensive desktop analysis, Cannabis webinars and conferences, as well as autoethnography, the thesis shows that there is in fact more to the plant than what first meets the eye. It especially illuminates two important dimensions of Cannabis that are often overlooked when discussing the plant. Firstly, by its nature Cannabis is political, which is deeply embedded in how the plant is understood in the geographic diaspora of the Global South. Secondly, it shows that any serious social scientific analysis of contemporary Cannabis development must think through how the ways of knowing, produced during prohibition, will become a part of the plant’s future. This thesis therefore argues for an appraisal and maintenance of the historical resistances of Cannabis used prior to legalization, if its development in the legal era is to be successful. To be sure, such innovative and alternative models of practical development should become a standard part of the geographies of all work economies. Moreover, making use of these forms of resistance is not about Cannabis gaining the approval from ‘the market’. In fact, the skills learnt while labouring for Cannabis, when it was prohibited, has become such a permanent feature of its development that liberal democratic consent is not an option. Therefore, the thesis proposes that Cannabis development delink from the prohibition narratives inscribed onto the plant. It continues by showing that the current medicalisation of Cannabis only updates gatekeeping models. Hence, an agrarian alternative was suggested that consolidates all the uses of Cannabis without undermining any one part of the plant. Lastly, the thesis documents the possibilities of gaining access into the industry for black people, the poor working class and women. What it argues is that ownership, just employment and leadership of Cannabis industries in South Africa must be repurposed so that ordinary people can also play a part in making sure the plants contemporary development is truly sustainable. Taken together, this is the critique of development that the political geography of hemp Cannabis in South Africa reveals.
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    Implication of Regulated Cannabis Legalisation on Wellbeing and Economic Growth
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Quarshie, Emmanuel; Alagidede, Imhotep Paul
    This is a thesis on the cost benefit analysis of cannabis legalisation, public (mis)perception about cannabis usage and cannabis users, the medical application of cannabinoids and their commercial and industrial potential in the new global political economy. The study shows that, although there are misconceptions about cannabis, there is still much to unpack about its effects on human well-being. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative cross-country dataset from Ghana and South Africa, the study employed a logit model to address the following questions: (a) What does society know about cannabis and its industrial and medical applications? (b) What is the evidence-based scientific claims of cannabis regarding human well-being? (c) What are the existing gaps between perception and knowledge? Among the contributions, this study clarifies the often-misunderstood position of cannabis in society and illuminates the blind side of the role of cannabis as an economic enabler in the post pandemic world. More importantly, while some schools of thought project cannabis as a gateway drug to the infernal realm, this study provides evidenced based on real-time practical experience from well- informed and educated users. The study provides a model for regulated cannabis legalisation, a proper guide on value-added supply chain mechanism, and guiding principles to ensure the model functions properly, based on lessons and best practices from countries that have legalized cannabis, such as the Netherlands, Canada, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. This study further establishes empirical and theoretical foundations for the key thematic subjects of cannabis use, as well as a policy direction pertaining to its regulated legalisation, prohibition, or decriminalization in Ghana and South Africa. Given the disconnect between knowledge and perception about cannabis, the study recommended knowledge enhancement and adequate advocacy on the pros and cons of cannabis for society to enhance understanding of the benefits and its side effects to provide evidence-based guidance on the medical application and industrial potentials
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    The political geography of hemp Cannabis in South Africa: A development critique
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-06) Moore, Wendell; Wafer, A; Mnwana, S
    The discourse on Cannabis that is generally understood in the public domain, revolves mostly around its recreational uses and more recently its medicinal potential. The plants industrial usages and overall worth to society are often framed in relation to these more popular parts of Cannabis. The study focuses its attention on hemp Cannabis to tell a different story but acknowledges that all the uses of Cannabis are interlinked. Using an extensive desktop analysis, Cannabis webinars and conferences, as well as autoethnography, the thesis shows that there is in fact more to the plant than what first meets the eye. It especially illuminates two important dimensions of Cannabis that are often overlooked when discussing the plant. Firstly, by its nature Cannabis is political, which is deeply embedded in how the plant is understood in the geographic diaspora of the Global South. Secondly, it shows that any serious social scientific analysis of contemporary Cannabis development must think through how the ways of knowing, Produced during prohibition, will become a part of the plant’s future. This thesis therefore argues for an appraisal and maintenance of the historical resistances of Cannabis used prior to legalization, if its development in the legal era is to be successful. To be sure, such innovative and alternative models of practical development should become a standard part of the geographies of all work economies. Moreover, making use of these forms of resistance is not about Cannabis gaining the approval from ‘the market’. In fact, the skills learnt while labouring for Cannabis, when it was prohibited, has become such a permanent feature of its development that liberal democratic consent is not an option. Therefore, the thesis proposes that Cannabis development delink from the prohibition narratives inscribed onto the plant. It continues by showing that the current medicalisation of Cannabis only updates gatekeeping models. Hence, an agrarian alternative was suggested that consolidates all the uses of Cannabis without undermining any one part of the plant. Lastly, the thesis documents the possibilities of gaining access into the industry for black people, the poor working class and women. What it argues is that ownership, just employment and leadership of Cannabis industries in South Africa must be repurposed so that ordinary people can also play a part in making sure the plants contemporary development is truly sustainable. Taken together, this is the critique of development that the political geography of hemp Cannabis in South Africa reveals.