This article is the sixth in a series that looks at the cannabis plant in different countries around the world. Working as a manager for Green House Seed Company I had the chance of travelling to quite a number of destinations worldwide, and after many years of experiencing firsthand the ups and downs of many places, it is with great pleasure and pride that I am sharing this information with all Canamo readers. This month we have a look at the second of the African countries in program for this series:
South Africa
In the next months I will look at Swaziland and Mauritius, and later on I will cover some of the Caribbean islands I had the privilege to visit: Jamaica, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados & St. Vincent.
South Africa is known as the “rainbow country†because of the diversity of its people and landscapes, as well as climates and coastline. It is indeed one of the most ethnically diverse nations on the planet, and it offers a great deal of contrasts between poor and rich, between first-world economy and third world social realities. Travelling through the country it is clear that a lot has changed since the days of Apartheid, but a lot has stayed the same. Despite boasting the most active economy and the highest GDP on the entire African continent, South Africans still deal with grim daily realities such as skyrocketing crime rates and HIV/AIDS, bad school and health systems, and chronic corruption at all levels of society. The nation is still healing from the wounds of a long period of racism and international isolation, and this process will take a long time.
But many positive signs are visible, including a thriving tourism industry and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which will be a key event in introducing the new South Africa to the international arena of modern, democratic nations.
Besides being a key tourist destination, South Africa is also the largest producer of cannabis on the continent, with an estimated yearly production of over 2500 metric tons. The UN published this data in 2008; in reality this estimate is considered very low by other sources.
Cannabis, known locally as “dagga†or “zollâ€, is very diffused. A large portion of the young population uses cannabis fairly regularly. The largest production comes from the remote area of Transkei, in the Eastern Cape region, which supports local as well as international demand. Other areas produce smaller crops, usually not destined to international markets. Some types of Transkei weed have been popular for many decades and received the name “Rooiebartâ€, or “Red Beardâ€, for the intense red of the hairs. These are considered the highest grade between the South African landraces. It is a woody, spicy type of sativa, with a mellow and mild high that lasts long. Unfortunately it is very rare to find it non-seeded and decently dried and packaged.
Cannabis crops are cultivated in remote and underdeveloped areas, sometimes not connected by roads or paths, and entire villages are involved in the cultivation, harvest and sales. Cannabis is the only source of income for a large number of local people. The plants are usually patched in land that does not belong to the village, but near enough to be well attended. Wind and hard rain represent a major obstacle to trouble-free crops, and bud-rot is a very common issue.
In South Africa there are few local landraces, all from the Transkei region, and all of them are sharing similar characteristics. They are tall sativas with a long flowering time and medium-low resin content. They present interesting terpene profiles, and very particular smells ranging from the very woody to the more spicy/nutty.
In the Durban area, during the 1970s, the legendary Durban Poison was created crossing seeds from South India with local African landraces. Never completely stabilized, the Durban Poison is still the most known South African strain worldwide. Few seed companies claim to have the original, but most likely any cross between South Indian and Transkei can be named Durban Poison.
Cannabis is illegal in South Africa, and law enforcement takes regular action against it. Every year government helicopters spray illegal pesticides (Round-up and Agent Orange between others) on the most cultivated regions during the harvest months of April and May. While these flights are unlikely to put a dent in the massive production, they create huge health hazards for the local population. They destroy food crops as well as cannabis, and pollute huge areas making them unfertile. But the authorities are too busy with bigger problems (violent crimes and hard drugs mostly) to dedicate too much attention to pot.
The cannabis produced in South Africa is considered of low-medium level on a worldwide scale, and is often full of seeds and poorly dried and packaged. Consequently it has really cheap prices, and it finds its ways to most of the African and European markets. According to the latest UN Drug Report (data from 1995 to 2007) South Africa is today the fourth producer of cannabis after Mexico, USA and Paraguay.
In the last 10 years there has been a steep increase in the number of South African tourists visiting Europe and bringing back genetics and the knowledge to grow them indoors. As a consequence it is now possible to find high-grade indoor pot in all three major cities (Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban), at European prices (often over ten times the price of outdoor bud, only affordable to the very well off.). South African indoor growers usually keep their rooms pretty basic, focusing their efforts on the fight against heat and humidity Common solutions are the use of air-conditioning and reducing the amount of lights when the days get hotter. Most indoor growers do not use air filters to reduce smell, and anti-detection foil is unheard of. It is very rare to find a setup with mother plants and clones. The majority of indoor growers start each crop from seeds.
Most of the high-tech gadgets available in Europe and North America are not present at local growshops, and anything imported is quite expensive due to long distance transport and high import taxes.
Nevertheless the quality achieved by South African growers is pretty impressive. In Cape Town it is possible to buy strains like Cheese, White Rhino, Top 44 and Mazar on a regular basis, hydroponically grown and coated with frosty resin. The quality is great, the price between 5 and 12 Euros per gram, depending on the source and the time of the year. During the months of December and January (the summer months) demand increases steeply, and so do prices.
Rarely it is possible to find imported hashish from India or Morocco, mainly in connection with the outdoor festival scene. Prices are roughly equivalent to those in Europe; availability is very random.
As most of the world top pot-producing countries, South Africa is a great holiday destination for the cannabis-oriented traveller.
Peace, Love & THC
Franco – Green House Seed Co.
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