Paper short abstract:

The paper engages the complex relationship between formal cannabis policies and illicit drug economies in Africa.

Paper long abstract:

Illicit drug crop (IDC) economies are often viewed as impacted and shaped by the predominant prohibitionist approaches adopted by national governments as well as international bodies such as the UNODC. IDCs are portrayed as victims of policy and legal approaches that undermine livelihoods of illicit peasantries. Using cannabis experiences in countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa the paper will show that illicit cannabis economies are not passively shaped by prohibitive national laws that have historically banned the substance’s cultivation, trade and use. Rather, the national drug laws and policies have and continues to be significantly impacted and shaped by illicit cannabis economies which they have failed to eradicate. Consequently, attempts by African governments to move beyond prohibition are hamstrung by their fear of IDCs and their ‘perceived’ effects on societies. This has shaped the nature of current legal reforms in some countries which only accommodate legal production for medicinal and industrial purposes targeted at export markets while continuing to ban all non-licensed cultivation, trade and uses associated with illicit peasantries. Additionally, the stringent regulatory conditions associated with legal cannabis markets are a clear demonstration of how IDC economies have created a reverse effect that in turn is affecting how licit cannabis is produced.