Cannabis research to help traditional healers

SEBOKENG. – A project that will change the way in which traditional healers in the Vaal Triangle use and harvest cannabis is underway at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Science Centre in Sebokeng.
The five year cannabis and hemp research and development project is headed by Cannabusiness (CBN), a licensed cannabis and hemp research and
development company which has formed a partnership with VUT and Dihlare Remedies. Project manager, Hennie Venter, says he approached Professor Fanyana Mtunzi from VUT after he conducted unorthodox research on the plant and how it can be used for medicinal purposes, specifically
dealing with arthritis.
Venter said the reason why their research at this point is currently dealing with arthritis is because they do not want to create one medicine to deal with all kinds of diseases but to just make one medicine at a time which will deal with only one disease. Venter says: “Cannabis has been used
as a medicine for a long time. The challenge however, remains that cannabis medicine used in African countries has not been validated through comprehensive scientific or clinical studies and as a consequence its broader application is restricted.”
The project has also seen a rather unusual partnership with local traditional healers.
Venter says: “More than 80% of our country’s population consults with traditional healers, it is therefore important that we bridge the gap between traditional medicine and clinical practices.”
Mtunzi says, “Our Training program for traditional health practitioners is an interactive program teaching our healers how to develop their medicinal cannabis seeds to the extractions of seeds cleanly and clinically ensuring that patients receive clean, effective and validated cannabis and cannabinoid treatments.”
Mtunzi said that this would help in that the healers would be giving the healing medicine to the community in its purest form without any toxins that could potentially harm them.
“The project is also designed for the removal of heavy metals, toxins and a wide variety of other contaminants caused by years of industrial steel manufacturing.
Hemp being a hyperaccumulator uses a stress gene to ward off the toxic effects of metals and contaminants. “Our aim is not only the development
of hemp derived products and markets in South Africa; we are currently working on the validation and due diligence of community and public access to market models.
“We continue to stay focused on our environmental responsibility and we are currently engaged in the consultation process with a local community and an environmental group with regards the proposed hemp phytoremediation project.” Venter concludes.