Drug laws, bioprospecting and the agricultural heritage of Cannabis in Africa

Abstract

For centuries across most of Africa, farmers have valued Cannabis for multiple reasons. Historic crop selection produced genetic diversity that commercial bioprospectors value for marijuana production. African colonial and post-colonial administrations devalued the crop, enacted Cannabis controls earlier than most locations worldwide, and excluded Cannabis from agricultural development initiatives. Public agricultural institutions exclude Cannabis as an extension of drug-control policies. Only private companies conserve crop genetic diversity for psychoactive Cannabis, without recognizing intellectual property rights embedded in landraces. Cannabis decriminalization initiatives should stimulate evaluation of its roles in African agriculture, and of worldwide control and management of its genetic diversity.

Keywords:

• economic development
• drug policy
• intellectual property
• marijuana
• seed

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Chris Duvall is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of New Mexico. He studies past and present people–plant interactions, particularly in Africa and the African Atlantic Diaspora.