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Ethiopia
ኢትዮጵያ (Ītyōṗṗyā)
Highland escarpment at sunset
Highland escarpment at sunset
Capital Addis Ababa
Continent Africa
Subregion East Africa
Cannabis Status
Legal Status
Enforcement Prohibited
Documentation
Growing Regions 0
Growing Areas 1
Accessions 3
Conservation
Populations none documented yet


Ethiopia is a landlocked country in East Africa. Fourteenth-century water-pipe bowls from Ethiopia retain cannabis residue, which places the smoking of cannabis there well before tobacco reached the continent.[1]

The seed vendor ACE Seeds sells a line it describes as a third-generation pure Ethiopian sativa, with no region, site, farmer or collection year given.[2]

Cannabis is prohibited.

Geography

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Demographics

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Agriculture

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Cannabis in Ethiopia

History

Water-pipe bowls recovered in Ethiopia and dated to the fourteenth century retained cannabis residue: cannabis was smoked there several centuries before tobacco arrived from the Americas.[1] Two such bowls came from level 2 of Lalibela Cave, near Lake Tana, which has an associated radiocarbon date of 1320 ± 80 CE.[3]

Cultivation

A United Nations study of 1999 found that police had seized cannabis plants from farmers in many parts of the country between 1993 and 1997, among them the Alemaya district of eastern Hararghe, the Shebendia district of Sidamo and the Oromia region, especially around Shashamane. Farmers planted it far from the roads and hid it among other crops.[4]: 22 In the fiscal year 2018–19 the Federal Police destroyed more than seven hectares of cannabis farms in Shashamane and Addis Ababa.[5]

Varieties and genetics

ACE Seeds describes its third-generation Ethiopian sativa as a pure tropical African sativa of interest to growers of pure sativas and to preservationists, and reports recent cannabinoid analyses returning about 2 per cent tetrahydrocannabivarin.[2]

Preparations and consumption

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Trade and commerce

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Cannabis is illegal in Ethiopia.[citation needed]

Growing Regions

No growing regions documented yet.

Growing Areas

Accessions

Accession IDNameCollectedArea
ACE-ETH-UNK-0120160001Ethiopia Reproduction 2016
EAG-ETH-ORO-0120210001Shashamane Sativa 2021Shashamane
VIB-ETH-UNK-0100000001Ethiopian Highland General Population

Conservation status

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Recent news

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See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 van der Merwe, N.J. (2005). "Antiquity of the smoking habit in Africa". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 60 (2): 147–150. doi:10.1080/00359190509520494.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ethiopian". ACE Seeds. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  3. ↑ van der Merwe, Nikolaas J. (1975). "Cannabis smoking in 13th–14th century Ethiopia: chemical evidence". In Rubin, Vera (ed.). Cannabis and Culture. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 77–80. doi:10.1515/9783110812060.77.
  4. ↑ United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (March 1999). The Drug Nexus in Africa (PDF) (Report). ODCCP Studies on Drugs and Crime, Monograph series 1. Vienna: United Nations.
  5. ↑ Xinhua (2 September 2019). "Ethiopia destroys over 7 hectares of cannabis farms". The New Times. Kigali. Retrieved 21 October 2026.