Interviews with cannabis company managers in Lesotho revealed that regulatory delays, inconsistent law enforcement, and exclusion of small enterprises threaten the viability of Africa's first legal medicinal cannabis sector.
Cannabis policy researchers, African economic development professionals, and legalization advocates
Small enterprises largely excluded from Lesotho's cannabis sector
What the researchers found
Since licensing cannabis companies in 2017, Lesotho has faced challenges including long timeframes for finalizing regulatory frameworks, inconsistent application of laws, and failure to provide opportunities for small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs). The sector that was intended to benefit from legalization has been largely excluded.
Why it matters
Lesotho was the first African country to license medicinal cannabis (2017), and its experience provides lessons for other African nations considering legalization. The finding that small enterprises were excluded mirrors equity concerns seen in North American legalization.
The numbers in context
3 cannabis company managers interviewed. Lesotho has grown cannabis since approximately the 1550s. Licensed medicinal cannabis since 2017.
How the study worked
Qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews with three cannabis company managers in Lesotho, selected via snowball sampling. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis.
What this study cannot tell us
Very small sample (3 managers) limits the breadth of perspectives captured. Only company managers were interviewed, not small farmers, regulators, or community members. Single-country case study.
How to read the evidence
Very small qualitative study from a single country, useful for illustrating challenges but not for drawing broad conclusions.
When this study was published
2024 study
The bigger picture
The African cannabis industry is at a crossroads. Lesotho's experience shows that legalization without equity provisions can replicate the same patterns of exclusion seen in the US and Canada, where large companies benefit while communities historically involved in cannabis are shut out.
Questions still open
- Can Lesotho reform its regulations to include SMMEs? How do other African countries considering legalization learn from Lesotho's challenges? Would domestic market legalization change the economic calculus?
Common questions
How is Lesotho's cannabis industry doing?
What lessons does Lesotho offer for cannabis legalization?
Read the original research
Envisaging challenges for the emerging medicinal Cannabis sector in Lesotho.
Journal of cannabis research, 6(1), 23
Citation
Thetsane, Regina M. (2024). Envisaging challenges for the emerging medicinal Cannabis sector in Lesotho.. Journal of cannabis research, 6(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-024-00229-9