On 5 and 6 August 2024, the Eastern & Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) held a regional consultation meeting on cannabis regulation in Maputo, Mozambique. The event, opened by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, aimed to guide regional drug policy reform in light of the global shift away from the criminalisation of cannabis.
Participants included ESACD commissioners, H. E. Kgalema Motlanthe, Former President of South Africa, H. E. Joaquim Chissano, Former President of Mozambique, H. E. Cassam Uteem, Former President of Mauritius, Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Scientific Director, CAPRISA, and Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, and Honourable Willy Mutunga, Former Chief Justice/President, Supreme Court of Kenya, as well as government officials, law enforcement and civil society from countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and beyond. These included, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, North Macedonia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as delegates from countries with more established cannabis regulations, including Canada and Thailand.
The meeting facilitated knowledge exchange to support the development of tailored, collaborative solutions for managing the cannabis trade in the region, as part of a growing recognition of the need for updated drug policies in Eastern and Southern Africa.
