Lesotho start-up MG will export cannabis flower for medicinal use – which can range from relieving chronic pain to treating spasms caused by multiple sclerosis. Lesotho has helped pioneer the nascent legal cannabis sector in Africa which could be worth more than $7.1 billion annually by 2023 if new laws are introduced, the African Cannabis Report said two years ago. Launched in 2017, MG Health has its cultivation and modern processing facilities at a secluded location some 2,000 metres above sea-level in mountainous Lesotho, which is completely surrounded by South Africa. MG Health chief executive Andre Bothma said the firm had received certification to export cannabis flower as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) under the EU’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) protocol. Besides the EU and Germany, Bothma said they also planned to enter the UK and Australian markets. A growing number of countries around the world are either legalising or relaxing laws on cannabis as attitudes towards the drug change. They include several in Africa, such as South Africa, Rwanda, Morocco and Malawi.
SOURCE: REUTERS