Zimbabwe authorizes the use of CBD as medicine for the first time

Zimbabwe now allows the sale of medicines containing cannabidiol (CBD) as a supplement to treatments given to patients.

Zimbabwe’s drug regulatory authority has urged all licensed hemp and cannabis producers, manufacturers, importers, exporters, and retail pharmacists to apply for authorization to sell these products.

The Authority is now accepting and reviewing applications for approval of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products as complementary medicines. pic.twitter.com/g2QNwzjQRr

— Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (@MCAZofficial) July 26, 2022

The regulatory agency has asked interested parties to provide product samples and to allow its officials to inspect production sites. «Unlicensed cannabis sellers will be prosecuted for selling unapproved drugs,» it stated in a letter dated July 18.

The Zimbabwe legalized medical cannabis in 2018, driven by economic realities. Long the country’s main export, tobacco sales have plummeted worldwide, forcing Zimbabwean farmers and lawmakers to rethink their approach to agriculture.

The Industry leaders have encouraged tobacco farmers the country «to grow cannabis so that a quarter of their income comes from this plant by 2025.».

In 2019, Zimbabwe lifted its ban on cannabis cultivation, paving the way for the cultivation of industrial hemp for export. That same year, the country issued its first license to a medical cannabis company to begin cultivation.

Last year, Zimbabwe exported 30 metric tons of industrial hemp to Switzerland, marking its first foray into the European market.

In May, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa inaugurated a medical cannabis farm and a processing plant worth 25 million euros which will be managed by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in Zimbabwe's Western Province.