Zimbabwe raises the THC limit in hemp to 1%.

Zimbabwe raises the THC limit for industrial hemp from 0.3 % to 1%, a significant change for the country's hemp growers.

In 2018, Zimbabwe became the second African nation to legalize medical cannabis. She has legalized hemp the following year.

A country at the forefront

The amended bill, called Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, 2002, proposes to amend section 155 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] to remove industrial hemp from the list of dangerous drugs.

«By inserting the following definition, the bill states, »‘Industrial hemp’ means the plant Cannabis Sativa L and any part thereof, including the seed and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration not exceeding one percent on a dry weight basis.« .

An increase in THC levels will offer growers of industrial hemp a wider range of Cannabis varieties to extract certain cannabinoids such as THC or CBD, but also to obtain better fiber quality.

Hemp cultivation has also bringing tobacco farms back to life whose production has been declining in recent years. Visit Tobacco Research Board (TRB) has been ordered to «reform and restructure by 2025», to become a national center for research, development and innovation in tobacco and alternatives.

The country has set itself the goal of advancing the profitability and development of agriculture in Zimbabwe. Industrial hemp was one of the crops of interest. In recent years, TRB has tested and developed hemp varieties acclimatized to Zimbabwe's climatic conditions.

Five years of medical cannabis in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe legalized medical cannabis in 2018.

In 2019, Zimbabwe abolished the ban on cannabis cultivation, This paved the way for the country's farmers to start growing industrial hemp for export. The same year, the country issued the first license to a medical cannabis company to begin cultivation.

In May 2022, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned a medical cannabis farm and a treatment plant worth 25 million euros to be managed by Swiss Bioceuticals Limited in the Western Province of Zimbabwe.

«This milestone is testimony to the success of my government's policy of engagement and re-engagement. It also demonstrates the confidence that Swiss companies have in our economy by continuing to invest in Zimbabwe. I extend my deepest congratulations to Swiss Bioceuticals Limited for this timely investment in the medicinal cannabis farm, processing plant and value chain, worth US$27 million,» said Mr. Mnangagwa at the plant announcement.

Zimbabwe's Medicines Control Authority said on July 26, 2022 that it would begin accepting applications from cannabis and hemp growers, manufacturers, importers, exporters and retail pharmacists, in a shift away from tobacco.