Are you Cannadisruptor

If you were at the Cannabis Expo in Jozi, you would have seen a lot of talks from local and international speakers. I attended a lot of them.

So cannabis is the major buzz word in SA at the moment, and if you have a little rebel in you, like me, then this is a great time to become a disruptor in the creative and marketing industry. Just remember that being a disruptor is living on the edge and not loosing your balls when things get hairy. I find that that this is a great time in SA and we are having some great historical moments. Every marketer knows information that goes out needs to be compliant for the platform. Yes!!! you will have to be the dumb ass and read the T&Cs of social media. The other annoying thing you may want to familiarise yourself with is the laws of the land. No… you do not need to study law, just be aware of the do’s and don’ts of the distribution of cannabis information.

At the Sandton Cannabis Expo there were a lot of businesses, CBD product manufacturers, companies that are there to help you set up as well as stuff that crazy scientists will get excited about.

Guess what, they may or may not know this, but they will need our services. Just remember that social media marketing will be a tricky element, especially if you are contracted. If you want to become a disruptor in the Design Industry, you will need to remember your name will go out there as an affiliate and some of your clients may not like the association.

Here is the trick; you can create awareness around cannabis and CBD through visuals and blogging. However, you can not sell or promote cannabis products. You will have to choose your words carefully. Make sure that you comply with the advertising regulations and play by the book before publishing. The South African policy can be found here Advertising Regulatory Board’s new policy draft. Most small businesses will look at you as a media expert to guide them through the messy grounds of social media laws as well as country laws.

In South Africa, we have some great activists that are working on changing these laws. They sure as hell can do with some help. Fields of Green for all – Visit, https://fieldsofgreenforall.org.za, probably one of the go-to sites, there is a wealth of information.

Further to this, you can watch the https://hotboxshow.co.za every Thursday evening, besides it being highly entertaining they do touch on happenings in the SA Industry.

Now for you dope people that grow, smoke, eat and inhale this is what I learned

1. No, you may not sell cannabis or products produced from cannabis under the current law. What does this mean? You can not be on private property and sell products that contain cannabis.
2. Cannabis may grow and consume for personal use on a private dwelling/property. You can use cannabis in your own home or on private property. As a guideline, you can use the current laws around tobacco and alcohol consumption. Meaning you can not smoke or give this to under-aged children or drive under the influence.
3. The SAP will use their judgement with regards to cannabis.

The law around this is very grey and should you be caught by the cops having cannabis on you; it is up to the discretion of the cops whether this is for personal use or resell. So yes they can arrest you. However, this does not mean that you are automatically guilty. You will have to go to court and prove that it was not for resell. Some legal companies can assist, one of them being Schindlers who are currently working with various organisation on the legislation to legalise cannabis.

1. Lastly, it is illegal to sell cannabis seeds as a private citizen. Only seed banks may sell seeds in South Africa.

I hope that you enjoyed the article let me know and if I got something offbeat, feel free to correct me.