Nigerians smoke the most weed or make use of cannabis the most.
A report on tobacco use from a public health campaign group and US academics has found that smoking rates are rising among adults in at least 10 countries in Africa, as well as among young people, according to a Business Insider Africa report.
The other nine African countries puffing away or using cannabis in various other ways the most are:
According to data from the Global Cannabis Report: 2019 Industry Outlook by New Frontier Data, here are the top 10 African countries that smoke the most cannabis:
Nigeria - 20.8 million people
Ethiopia - 7.1 million people
Egypt - 5.9 million people
DR Congo - 5 million people
Tanzania - 3.6 million people
Kenya - 3.3 million people
Sudan - 2.7 million people
Uganda - 2.6 million people
Madagascar - 2.1 million people
Ghana - 2 million people.
In 2017, Lesotho became the first country on the continent to grant an administrative licence for the commercial cultivation of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes.
Since then, several countries have followed suit, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, eSwatini, Zambia, Uganda and Rwanda.
Ghana has also authorised cannabis production, but only for varieties with THC (the plant’s psychoactive ingredient) levels of 0.3% or less.
South Africa is the world’s third largest producer of cannabis
South Africa is a large producer of cannabis (the world’s third largest), most of which is consumed in the southern African region, but at least some of which finds its way to Europe. Cannabis is cultivated in South Africa, and also imported from neighbouring countries (Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe), exported to some of the neighbouring countries (eg Namibia) and Europe (mainly Holland, UK) and, of course, consumed in South Africa, according to a report by the Human Sciences Research Council.
The global market for legal cannabis is expected to reach almost $43 billion by 2024. By 2027, the demand for legal cannabis in Europe alone should hit $37bn, up from $3.5bn in 2019 – an almost 30% CAGR.
South Africa to get first listing of Cannabis SPAC in Africa
Africa is about to get its first listing of a medical cannabis-focused SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, when Cilo Cybin Holdings raises money in Joburg later this year, according to Radarr Africa.
The company is seeking as much as R2bn ($114 million), said Gabriel Theron, who leads the business. The share offer was expected to open on September 12 and close in November.
“The first step of the plan with the money raised is to acquire an existing cannabis manufacturing facility and to super-size its capacity,” said Theron, who set up and is a part owner of the proposed site. “We want to position ourselves as one of the largest processing hubs for the cannabis industry in Africa.”
The initial public offering on South Africa’s stock exchange will be just the fourth SPAC listing in Africa and a first for the cannabis industry on the continent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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