The Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) convened a regional consultation meeting on cannabis regulation in Maputo, Mozambique, on 5 and 6 August 2024. The meeting was aimed at countries in Eastern and Southern Africa that have already decided to regulate cannabis use and production in some form or were otherwise considering it. Thematically, the meeting focused on three core elements of cannabis regulation: designing the initial framework; implementing policy; and ensuring compliance and oversight.

Regional delegates from Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, representing variously government, law enforcement, academia and civil society, were joined by participants from countries that are further along in the regulatory process, including Canada, Ghana, Thailand and North Macedonia, who shared their experiences of regulation. The meeting was solution-orientated and focused on collaborative problem-solving, with the hope that delegations from Eastern and Southern Africa would be encouraged to advance their existing cannabis regulatory policies into practice.

This motivation was echoed in the opening address by Filipe Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, who spoke of the importance of reducing the stigma and misconceptions surrounding cannabis, arguing that when it comes to cannabis regulation, careful analysis should be accompanied by open dialogue. President Nyusi underlined that this dialogue should be one of active participation leading to concrete proposals: ‘Everyone must bring solutions so that we can find new ideas.’

President Nyusi was joined by other high-level government representatives appearing alongside ESACD commissioners Kgalema Motlanthe, former President of South Africa and chair of the commission; Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique; Cassam Uteem, former President of Mauritius; Dr Willy Mutunga, former President of the Supreme Court of Kenya; and Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Research Director of CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa). Over the course of the meeting, the commissioners led a discussion that explored not only what does and does not work when it comes to cannabis regulation but, more importantly, the kinds of measures that are relevant specifically for the region. The conversation highlighted the complexity of balancing public health and commercial interests, the importance of clear communication and the need for continual policy refinement.