Malawi
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| Malawi | |
|---|---|
| Malaŵi | |
| |
| Malawian highlands from the air | |
| Capital | Lilongwe |
| Continent | Africa |
| Subregion | East Africa |
| Cannabis Status | |
| Legal Status | Illegal (medical and industrial hemp licensed) |
| Status Since | 2020 |
| Enforcement | Recreational cultivation and use remain criminal; licensed sector regulated by the Cannabis Regulatory Authority |
| Documentation | |
| Growing Regions | 0 |
| Growing Areas | 1 |
| Accessions | 7 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
| Seed held in gene banks | 1 accession (National Plant Germplasm System 1) |
Malawi is a landlocked country in East Africa where cannabis is known as chamba. Gama Bandawe traces its place in the culture to ancient times, citing the curing of the bud wrapped tightly in banana leaf, the so-called Malawi Cob, and the term chamba cha makolo for an ancient tradition.[1]
The Cannabis Regulation Act, passed by the National Assembly on 28 February 2020, regulates the cultivation, propagation, production, processing, storage, export, import, distribution and use of medical cannabis and industrial hemp, establishing a Cannabis Regulatory Authority to license and oversee them. It does not decriminalise recreational use, which remains illegal.[1]
The Real Seed Company sells a Malawi Gold inbred line and ACE Seeds a fourth-generation Malawian line of its own.
Geography
Malawi is a narrow, landlocked country dominated by the Rift Valley and by Lake Malawi, with highlands to the south and north.[citation needed] The Real Seed Company associates the country's best cannabis landraces historically with Nkhotakota, on the lake shore in the Central Region, and calls its Malawi Gold a Nkhotakota landrace at about 13° S.[2]
Demographics
Agriculture
Industrial hemp has been grown in trials at the Chitedze Agricultural Research Station and at other sites, and lobbying for a licensed sector went back more than twenty years before the 2020 Act.[1]
Cannabis in Malawi
History
Cultivation
The Real Seed Company describes its Malawi Gold inbred line as the original Afropips heirloom, a tropical sativa-type landrace grown for ganja and descended from a landrace collected in Malawi several decades ago.[2]
Peter Gastrow of the Institute for Security Studies wrote in 2003, drawing on information from the Malawi police, that chamba was grown on a large scale in Nkhotakota District along the banks of the Lupache river and in the Likwawa hills of Mzimba District; it was grown on a smaller scale in the Ntchisi, Kasungu, Ntcheu and Dedza districts.[3]: 7–8 The Nkhotakota growing area covers the district.
Preparations and consumption
Trade and commerce
Legal status
Recreational cannabis is illegal; medical cannabis and industrial hemp may be licensed.
The Cannabis Regulation Act was passed by the National Assembly on 28 February 2020. It regulates the cultivation, propagation, production, processing, storage, exportation, importation, distribution and use of medical cannabis and industrial hemp, and establishes an authority, which Bandawe's paper calls the Cannabis Regulation Authority, to license and regulate the legal forms of the crop. The legislation distinguishes three things: marijuana, which remains illegal; industrial hemp; and medical cannabis.[1]
Growing Regions
No growing regions documented yet.
Growing Areas
| Growing Area | Has growing region |
|---|---|
| Nkhotakota |
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Collected | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACE-MWI-UNK-0120120001 | Malawi Reproduction 2012 | ||
| AFP-MWI-CEN-0120040001 | Malawi Gold 2004 | Nkhotakota | |
| AFP-MWI-CEN-0120040001-R1 | 2004 AFP Malawi Mini IBL | ||
| EAG-MWI-UNK-0120220001 | Malawi Gold 2022 | ||
| NPG-MWI-UNK-0020240001 | Malawi 2020 General Population | ||
| RSC-MWI-CEN-0120190001 | Malawi Gold 2019 IBL | Nkhotakota | |
| VIB-MWI-UNK-0100000001 | African Goblin General Population |
Conservation status
Recent news
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bandawe, Gama (2022). "Medical cannabis and cannabidiol: A new harvest for Malawi". Malawi Medical Journal. 34 (2): 138–142. doi:10.4314/mmj.v34i2.10.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Malawi Gold". The Real Seed Company. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
- ↑ Gastrow, P. (2003). Mind-blowing: the cannabis trade in southern Africa (Report). Cape Town: Institute for Security Studies.