Cape Town - Expert insist the cannabis industry could have massive potential to grow the economy by creating 25 000 jobs.
Currently, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development estimates that the cannabis industry is worth R28 billion.
The department has set out a South African master plan on cannabis, however legal red tape and the stigma around cannabis could cause the industry to lag behind.
Legal expert Shaad Vayej said the economic growth potential for the industry could cut across sectors.
“Conservative estimates indicate that 25 000 jobs could be created across the various value chains. The cannabis master plan aims to provide a broad framework for the development and growth of the South African cannabis industry in order to contribute to economic development, job creation, inclusive participation, rural development and poverty alleviation,” said Vayej.
The pitfalls to this master plan, he said, lie in the red tape and legal hesitancy from the government on the production of products like hemp.
Vayej added that the economic potential of the industry depends on buy-in from businesses and secondary manufacturers.
Nqobile Bundwini, a lecturer at UCT’s School of Management Studies, said the stigma around cannabis and the history of its illegal status meant that there had been very little research done on the topic or the industry as a whole.
She said while the industry is growing rapidly, there was still so much that was still unknown.
“The biggest stigma associated with cannabis is those negative perceptions about its uses and its effects. It’s the general undesirable picture of cannabis users being unintelligent, lazy, unhygienic and even dangerous. This leads to discrimination in professional and social contexts,” she said.
Bundwini thinks the stigma around cannabis could lead to governments not capitalising on the industry: “I feel that South Africa has a tendency to lag behind and not optimally use its rich resources. And if we don’t, we will get left behind – in a situation where we should in fact be the pioneers and leading from the front.
“We should be jumping on opportunities that will garner economic growth and job creation. The cannabis industry is one such opportunity. The time to change our mindsets is now,” she said.