A Kenyan national with unconventional idea of infusing Marijuana into fruit juice has found success in South Africa.
Speaking to the press in Kinshasa, DRC, on Friday, December 3, the businessman, Abel Masafu, disclosed that since founding the company, Black Weed Nation, in 2018, he has sold 35,000 bottles of the drink.
Masafu further noted that a bottle of the drink costs Ksh4,200 translating to a combined revenue of Ksh147 million in a span of four years.
He explained that his business became successful largely because of the favourable rules of the Southern Africa nation that regulates the trade.
The company started out by producing Cannabis oil but customers demanded another product disclosing that the oil often burnt the throat every time they ingested it.
"We used to trade in Cannabis oil and patients used to ask us, 'is there another delivery system you should give us so that it can numb the taste.'
"The taste of Cannabis oil, when it goes down the throat, has a small burn. So we found an innovative way by putting it into fruit juice," he explained.
He further noted that the South African government had legalised the product provided that it is sold in small amounts of less than 20mg.
Masafu, who is popularly known as Blitz Martini, further revealed that it was better for the state to provide the drug in processed form instead of leaves and that it has created a lot of jobs in the south.
"They have legalised (the trade) in the CBD. Any CBD preparations as long as you do not have over 20mg, it is legal to sell, it has been declassified as a drug.
"If that could happen in Kenya, it could open the doors for the public to get access to Cannabis in CBD. If you could get access to Cannabis that is safe, reliable and convenient could change a lot of things including job creation. It creates a lot jobs in South Africa," he added.
This comes even as Narok Senator, Ledama Ole Kina, struggles to have the product legalised in the country for its medicinal purposes.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the lawmaker disclosed that he was considering reviving former Kibra MP, the late Ken Okoth's 2018 bill that sought to legalise bhang.
He explained that he was considering the move for "health reasons and also for hemp commercial reasons."
"I am right in the middle of a firm in a place called Lithuania. What you can see here is actually Marijuana and it is taller than me. Why is it that we in Kenya are still stuck in the old ways of saying that this is an illegal drug?
"My host is telling me that this is Hemp and it is used for construction. If this is good in reducing the pain for cancer, why not legalise it?" he posed.
He further argued that if the drug was not good for people, other countries would not have legalised it.
In 2018, Ken Okoth filed a notice of motion in the National Assembly introducing the Marijuana Control Bill 2018 to decriminalise the use of marijuana.
