$50 000 For Licence To Produce Mbanje




Spread the love

The Zimbabwean government has reportedly set high licence fees for those wishing to farm cannabis.

According to Daily News, the government also reduced the prison terms of those “caught illegally dealing in the substance”.

Zimbabwe last week legalised production of cannabis for medicinal or scientific use.

A statutory instrument entitled Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Scientific Use Regulations, said prospective producers could apply to the health ministry for a licence to grow cannabis but under strict conditions, AFP reported.

“An application shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee and three copies of a plan of the site proposed to be licensed,” read part of the regulations.

Individual producers must be citizens of the country or have proof that they are resident while companies must produce proof of incorporation in Zimbabwe, the regulations said.

Zimbabwe situation report said that cannabis growers would be required to pay an annual return fee of $15 000 while an application to renew a producer’s licence will cost $20 000 and a licence to conduct research on cannabis had been pegged at $5 000.

Production and use of cannabis was illegal in Zimbabwe although the herb was widely used in traditional medicine to treat conditions like asthma, epilepsy and mental illness while some people use it as recreational drug and, supposedly, to make their hair grow quicker.

Production or possession of large quantities of cannabis attracted up to 12 years in jail.

S.I. 62 of 2018
FIRST SCHEDULE (Sections 2,4(1)(a), 14(1)(a), 63 and 81)

FEES

1. Application for a licence to produce cannabis……………………………$50 000
2. Application for a licence to conduct research on cannabis………….$ 5 000
3. Application for renewal of licence to produce cannabis……………..$20 000
4. Application for renewal of a licence to conduct research on cannabis…….$ 2 500
5. Application for variation or amendment of a licence …………………$ 2 500
6. Application for import/export licence……………………………………….$ 5 000
7. Inspection……………………………………………………………………………….$ 2 500
8. Annual return fees…………………………………………………………………..$15 000

Zimbabwe legalized the cultivation of marijuana for medical and research purposes, the government said in a legal notice on Wednesday.

The Health Minister, David Parirenyatwa, published a regulation that allows people and companies to have a license to grow marijuana, known locally as mbanje.

Thanks to the measure, Zimbabweans can now apply for licenses to grow cannabis, which makes the nation the second African country to legalize the plant cultivation.

Lesotho announced last year the continent’s first license to grow cannabis legally.

So far, it was illegal to grow, own or use marijuana in Zimbabwe, and criminals served sentences of up to 12 years in prison.

Five-year renewable licenses will allow producers to own, transport and sell fresh and dried cannabis, as well as cannabis oil, and are only required to include the plans of the growing site, the quantity to be produced and sold and the period of production.

The legislation clarifies that a license may be denied when information has been received from a ‘peace officer, competent authority or the United Nations’ that an applicant participated in the diversion of a controlled substance or precursor to an illicit market or use’.