Vision to make Vaal the Cannabis Capital for legal prescriptions
VANDERBIJLPARK. - In a possible historical first for South Africa and its legal cannabis industry, three Gauteng men last week received the first legal medical cannabis prescriptions - helped by one of the country’s leading medical cannabis growers based in Emfuleni.
This offers hope to millions throughout South Africa for whom mainstream medicine still has no remedy for their individual chronic conditions or circumstances – or forces them to use pharmacological products and medicines with damaging or addictive outcomes.
One of the three men who received a legal cannabis prescription last week from their doctor was Kwanda Mtetwa (32) from Johannesburg and a chronic pain sufferer since a tragic bike accident.
“I could not open a door or work on a computer without intense pain and the only option I had before receiving my legal cannabis prescription last week was taking pain-killers which destroy my stomach and could make me an addict,” a happy Mtetwa told Vaalweekblad.
The development was immediately welcomed by the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) as a milestone in rapidly developing a flourishing legal Vaal cannabis industry centred in Emfuleni.
“The GTCoC shares the vision to make Emfuleni the Cannabis Capital of South Africa and indeed the entire African continent, if only Government can speed up its developmental framework for the industry and the Vaal region,” said GTCoC CEO Klippies Kritzinger.
Anyone can now apply for a legal cannabis prescription, for a fee split between the Government regulator, the prescribing doctor and a facilitator. Take out the facilitator from the equation and the process becomes extremely complex and time-consuming for most, experts say.
The facilitated process can cost around R1 500 and a prescription is valid for only 6 months, according to sources.
Medical cannabis must by Law be supplied to a doctor from a licensed medical cannabis grower – the good news for those choosing cannabis above medicines such as addictive painkillers is that Vanderbijlpark in Emfuleni is home to one of the biggest licensed growers in Gauteng and the country.
Once a prescription application is submitted and registered with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), the matter is assessed, and a prescription is then formally given to the applicant by their doctor along with the medical cannabis prescribed.
The Gauteng Provincial Government has already announced it wants to see Gauteng and specifically Emfuleni become the “Cannabis Capital” of not only South Africa’s industrial, commercial and financial hub, but also of the entire African continent.
Those who require more information on applying for legal medical cannabis prescriptions can contact Anja Nienaber at anja@cbdfullspec.co.za or on 082 331 3315.
