Ten helium balloons filled with hundreds of dagga seeds were released into the air. They were supposed to pop at altitude. But with the help of the wind, they ended up unspectacularly in Parliament's gardens. Du Plessis was not concerned. For him it was a sign that, one way or another, dagga would get government's attention.

Eastern Cape administration spokesman Manelisi Wolela says approval has been given for cultivating 2 000ha of hemp. The Department of Trade and Industry has promised R55-million for a hemp-processing plant.

The province's hemp specialist, Monde Fotana, hopes the research permit for the project will in time be extended to a commercial permit. The department is also working with Mercedes-Benz in the hope of supplying the car manufacturer with hemp fibre for door panels and biodegradable dashboards. Ultimately the department hopes to persuade the Department of Health to de-schedule "hemp" from the cannabis schedule of drugs and to introduce "industrial hemp regulations".

Key laws are the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992 and the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act of 1965 which state that cannabis is illegal: the whole plant or any portion or product thereof, except dronabinol. Dronabinol is the pharmaceutical name for the active compound THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which has been patented and sold as Elevat and Marinol to combat nausea following chemotherapy and to boost appetite in anorexics and HIV-positive patients.

Given that THC is the only legal part of the plant, it is odd that it is the level of THC that is decisive in seeds being permitted for research. THC is indeed responsible for producing the "high" when cannabis is smoked, but the level of THC as a means of differentiating between cannabis grown for smoking (dagga) and cannabis grown for industrial purposes (hemp) is arbitrary and artificial.

The seeds approved by the Medicines Control Council for the Eastern Cape research project have a THC content of less than 1% and are of European origin. At 4 euro per kilogram and 50kg per ha, this will cost the government over R3-million a year, a price they say they will pay until farmers become established in the market, or until the Agriculture Research Council (ARC) develops a South African hybrid with a European level of THC.

Because of the commercial considerations, and the patent and intellectual property rights involved, the development of new varieties is a secretive business. Despite pressure from certain interest groups, including Du Plessis, the research council has not published any evidence of progress. Fotana says such information is only shared with "responsible" farmers. After applying for a research permit, the council supplied "responsible" farmer Russel de Beer with 750kg of European seeds which were planted in 2002 and 2003 on his farm in Northwest Province.

It was a failure.

De Beer says that "the ARC throws stars in your eyes". He simulated rural farming and did everything by hand but found that, because the European cannabis needed to be fertilised and irrigated, it would not be commercially viable for rural farmers. As the European seeds were acclimatised to 18 hours of sunlight in summer and the South African sun provided only 13, De Beer found they delivered poor-quality hemp.

Local varieties, producing more THC because of the shorter exposure to daylight, are more resistant to boll-worms and stink-bugs, and can be harvested twice a year. De Beer believes the best seed for cultivating hemp should have a South African origin.

In the hope of "helping the rural farmer to have real power in the market", he began researching the creation of a native hybrid, which could meet industrial demands. But he ran into trouble: unexpectedly, his permit failed to come through, and he was arrested, appearing in court on April 19.

Samples of De Beer's "suspicious" crop are being analysed at a forensic sciences laboratory to determine the level of THC.

The ARC is to give evidence in the case at the Brits Magistrate's Court on June 10. Meanwhile the exploitation of this valuable and prevalent shrub remains the monopoly of druglords. Many argue that more effective monitoring of any negative effects of dagga abuse will be possible if it is legalised, partly by destroying the allure of doing something forbidden.

It will also free cannabis to take its place in the economy as a versatile commodity.


-----end of article----