South Africa legalized marijuana for private use in 2019. However, grey areas around the day-to-day operation of the law has prompted users in Africa´s richest weed economy to get creative.

Clever startups range from dagga academies, to growing the plant in home lounges, and pass around the harvest, it´s a galore of clever tactics. The usual hype in South Africa is the straightforward farming and harvesting of cannabis. But overlooked niche weed ideas that could potentially reap benefits for eagle-eyed investors across Africa.

Weed plants in lounges  

Planting dagga at home and puffing it in private is entirely lawful in South Africa but buying and trading the public is not permitted.

This is a bewildering position of the law that has seen ill-informed police office incorrectly arrest legitimate users of dagga. Yet the positive effect of this legal ambiguity has been the creating of local startups that can cleverly jump through hoops and make a buck.

Here comes the likes of Cape Cannabis Club (referred to as C3). C3 is a dagga membership club that brings together professional growers who plant and raise the crop in their home lounges, verandas or gardens.

C3 is located in Cape Town, the country´s second largest city and a global tourism drawer destination.

Memberships costs begun at $16 a month but on higher packages it reaches $133 a month. For this $16 basic package, C3 must promise to produce 3grams (6 joints) of quality “greenhouse” cannabis, says Jack Stone its director.

´The basic membership gives out three grams of premium quality “greenhouse”, either three massive joints, or six small ones]. It depends if it’s indoor or greenhouse. Prices of membership can climb over $100 per month and beyond.´

This is a clever tactic to dodge national cannabis laws that says the plant can’t be grown and traded publicly without a specialized license.

Members of C3 must sign a clause that ties the club to growing “premium quality” dagga. Once harvested the dagga is pooled and distributed to members home in a manner that matches the cost of membership. The trimming, drying and packaging of the dagga is also done by C3 as well as the shipping to any homestead in South Africa.

C3 is thriving because in South Africa one can´t purchase or sell cannabis legally. “So C3 operates to lease a space where we grow the plants for members and ship the harvest to them. It´s technically a private place and strictly controlled,” reveals C3 Director Jack Stone.

C3 has blossomed to 1000 members some who donate plants that are cloned at its facility.

“We have countless seeds, saplings and clones. Our pioneer members donated them,” adds Jack. “All our operations are anonymous. Scores of people have the dagga ferried to their workplaces.”

Dagga academies

On the other end of the spectrum, in December, South Africa got its first ever cannabis academy online.

Cheeba Cannabis Academy opened its doors to offer short courses on diverse tricks of producing marijuana and hemp. The academy could not open its doors in brick and mortar buildings because of the raging Covid pandemic.

A vast array of chemists, nurses, industry veterans have been co-opted into the board of the academy. “The Chemistry of producing medical cannabis” is the first course on the menu, says Trevor Ainslim, the academy spokesperson.

A lawful academy has the advantage of maintain health clinical standards in producing dagga in South Africa as well as taking away students from unregistered cannabis school where fake marijuana science knowledge spreads.

 “In unregulated cannabis informal schools in South Africa, scientific myths like, (for example) dagga increases lips texture and bums for beauty models, do flourish. Such unscientific myths do harm the industry,” explains Trevor.

It seems, the ambiguity of South Africa´s public marijuana trading laws are a perfect push to its clever entrepreneurs.

Cannabis decriminalization across Africa is still isolated. Only a handful of nations have okayed the weed. But in 2021, clever cannabis entrepreneurs across the continent are steaming ahead, and will likely cash-out from niche trends like lounge-weed gardens or weed academies.

Written and Published by Ray Mwareya In Weed World Magazine Issue 150