This is what they say
Drug Policy reform can not happen in a vacuum. Cannabis policy reform is complicated by legal, political and social factors that are not exclusive to South Africa. Fields of Green for ALL has gone to great lengths over the last decade to observe, participate and learn from activists, academics and experts from all over the world.
This year Myrtle spent an extra week in Vienna for the launch of the Cannabis Embassy. Going forward, Fields of Green for ALL’s International Projects will be constituted under the umbrella of the Cannabis Embassy in order to amplify our voice and ensure wider global participation in important matters that affect our Cannabis Community here at home. You can read the official proclamation of the Embassy here.
Austria, Aotearoa-New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, the UK and Brazil.
We encourage our supporters to follow the Cannabis Embassy on social media (FB, Linked-In, Insta, X & Bluesky) and we will also provide more in depth info via our newsletter.
The article below (edited for context), written by Leela Baer, first appeared in Cannareporter in March.
Thank you to Maren Krings for the photographs.
Cannabis Embassy: Get to Know the International Network Impacting
Global Cannabis Policy
The Cannabis Embassy is an international network of grassroots non-profit organisations impacting global cannabis policies since 1998, finally uniting under the same banner. Relying on generous donors and sponsors in continuing in their decades long advocacy for cannabis [hemp] law and policy reform, the Cannabis Embassy returns to the United Nations in March 2024 for CND67 – the midterm review.
What is the Cannabis Embassy’s Vision?
The Cannabis Embassy envisions a world where humankind lives in harmony with Cannabis sativa L. – in its versatile uses, across all ecosystems, histories, and cultures – thereby contributing to the well-being of all life.
What is the Cannabis Embassy’s Mission?
Cannabis Embassy aims at enabling informed, respectful, just societies where Cannabis sativa L. is normal, by fostering solidarity and amplifying voices in international drug policy, actively contributing to ongoing reforms.
The Team
The Cannabis Embassy is a global network of grassroots non-profit organisations headed by UN veteran activists, who have proven that knowledge, experience, and resilience can indeed lead to real change.
Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli (Barcelona) and Farid Ghehiouèche (Paris) co-founded FDM-FAAAT in 2015. The organisation has enjoyed particular involvement in scheduling changes to cannabis under the Single Convention (1961) from 2016 to 2020 and led many key discussions in UN and EU cannabis and hemp policies.
Kenzi is a French-Algerian interdisciplinary researcher and advocate for sustainable drug policy reforms, using Action Research (matching scholars and citizens) as a catalyst for legal and social change. Kenzi is notably involved in studying alternative pathways for Cannabis policy reform, linking international law with local grassroots initiatives. He has authored and participated in compiling numerous articles and technical reports related to the various aspects of cannabis policy.
Farid has been active at the UN and European Union levels since 2003 through his involvement in the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD), of which he is chairperson. He continues to be deeply involved at CND sessions, attending as a civil society delegate, and part of different NGO delegations.
Kenzi and Farid were supported by Michael A. Krawitz (USA), an eminent figure in the field of medical cannabis research and advocacy, in contributing to the rescheduling of cannabis. Michael has authored several contributions to cannabis, combining historical insights with policy implications. He has worked on intellectual property rights (Appellations of Origin) for traditional cannabis farmers.
Myrtle Clarke (South Africa) co-founder and managing director of Fields of Green for ALL, which holds Special Consultative Status in the UN Economic and Social Council. This non-profit civil society organisation can actively participate in UN events like CND, providing a strong platform for the Cannabis Embassy to amplify global cannabis voices. Myrtle & Jules joined Kenzi, Michael, Farid and Hana after they attended their first UN conference – UNGASS – in 2016 in New York.
Hana Gabrielová (Czechia) owner of Hempoint – a vehicle for policy work with FDM-FAAAT – has a 20-year history both at the international and EU levels in Cannabis policy, non-profit, for-profit, and educational work around hemp and cannabis and has been a member of the core team above
The Cannabis Embassy has many more members from around the world and is constantly growing. Interested grassroots non-profit organisations, researchers, and activists sharing our vision are invited to get in touch to learn more.
Events Beyond CND67
Before presenting at CND67, Cannabis Embassy hosted two sessions at their Campus Event on Wednesday, 13 March.
Session 1: UN & Advocacy History explored the history of the vibrant advocacy movement that has grown over the past 20 years to become the Cannabis Embassy.
Session 2: Legacy & Biopiracy confronted various pressing issues facing legacy cannabis communities (small-scale farmers, local communities, and indigenous peoples) due to the multifaceted risks of biopiracy.
On Saturday, 16 March, the Cannabis Embassy visited Brno in the Czech Republic, participating in policy discussions with representatives from the Czech government and local activists. The Czech Republic has a very ambitious drug policy plan but, like South Africa, the debate between privacy and full commercialisation is robust.
“The Czech Republic’s anti-drug coordinator, Jindřich Vobořil, the driving force behind the country’s pioneering cannabis reform project, is understood to have prepared two separate versions of the bill, one with a fully regulated commercial market and one without. These are expected to be submitted to the government in the coming weeks, leaving it up to the Czech government to determine which model it will pursue.
With its next-door neighbour and close trading partner Germany passing its own cannabis reform bill through the Bundestag last month, choosing not to pursue a full commercial market, some have suggested this could have paved the way for the Czech Republic to follow in its footsteps.”
Read the full article here
On 24 April 2024 our Czech friends will be hosting the 9th Conference on Cannabis & Science. This will be an online event with English translation and promises to showcase cutting edge developments.
A Cannabis Embassy General Assembly was held on Sunday 17 March back in Vienna, to formally constitute the organisation and deliberate on various aspects affecting Cannabis globally and the Embassy’s strategy toward 2030.
The Cannabis Embassy, in conjunction with Fields of Green for ALL and ENCOD, presented two side events at CND67 on Thursday 21 March – #AandA: Access & Availability, from Palliative to Primary Care and Cannabis & Biopiracy. (More about these events in our newsletters)
Support the Cannabis Embassy
Bringing the Cannabis Embassy team to the UN, as well as continuing our global activism relies on generous donors and sponsors. Support the ongoing efforts of the Cannabis Embassy at the UN and beyond here – as we shape a world where humankind lives in harmony with Cannabis sativa
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