In March this year, the Western Cape High Court ruled that laws prohibiting the use of cannabis and the possession‚ purchase or cultivation of it in private homes and for personal consumption, were unconstitutional.

Although a flurry of articles were released praising South Africa’s progressive stance, anything related to cannabis is, in fact, illegal, except for, well, South Africa’s “secret” grow room.

According to The High Co., thousands of cannabis plants are being grown for “research” in a vicinity which neighbours [here] KwaZulu Natal’s King Shaka Airport:

[O]ne well connected company [is] already quietly growing Cannabis in a local 16 hectare “high tech agricultural development” zone quietly nestled away in KwaZulu Natal.

Those who have been paying close attention to the decades of controversial hemp trials, the millions in government grants and many question marks still lingering over the beautiful hemp grown in the Eastern Cape a couple of years ago won’t be surprised to find out that House of Hemp are again at the center of this project.

You see, as with all things related to our government, there is a lot of talk about what is actually going on.

The thing is if you have not heard of the House of Hemp you can be forgiven. They lack a big public presence, and don’t play their role in supporting local legalisation efforts.

However, you might have picked up that the company’s CEO and founder, Thandeka Kunene, has a very personal relationship with Helen Zille of all people:

Yeah…

Kunene is also on Instagram:

After The High Co.’s article was published on June 21, it caught the attention of the South African public. Nine protesters made their way to Dube Tradeport on Friday afternoon, demanding answers on why they are being arrested for lighting up a joint when “legal” cannabis is being grown in Durban.

Responding to this action, House of Hemp told Times LIVE that:

The House of Hemp (HOH) PTY LTD‚ based and operating out of Dube Tradeport at King Shaka International Airport‚ was established in 1999 to conduct research on the health benefits of pharmaceutical grade CBD and other cannabinoids based on legal permits‚ issued by the Department of Health‚ in 1999‚ as part of the National Hemp Foundation project formed to conduct legal research into hemp fibre‚ how to produce fibre‚ hemp seed and later hemp CBD.

Three decades and millions in funding?

Although there are many conspiracies surrounding The House of Hemp, it would be irresponsible to share them – but have a look here for some tasty titbits.

Real scepticism comes from the Medical Control Council and Central Drug Authority’s formal refusal to “grant any public access to the minutes of the meetings regarding their sudden support for the drug’s rescheduling”, and their newfound support for medical Cannabis has created a vacuum which can only be filled with speculation.

In the meantime, I’ll just carry on with my own personal “illegal” pot-smoking habits, although I wouldn’t mind hanging out with Kunene at her plantation for a bit.

[source:thehighco&timeslive]