Cannabis entrepreneur Kenneth King finds himself at the intersection of ambition and legal ambiguity as he navigates South Africa's burgeoning cannabis industry.
The 25-year-old already has a war story of alleged “encounters” with police, drug lords and local authorities that belie his age and three years as a cannabis shop owner.
By his own account, King said he could not recall the number of times he had been “involved” by police as a marijuana dealer.
” [older] Police still think marijuana is a drug – Dagger. And unfortunately there's nothing we can do to stop it,” he told the Mail & Guardian.
However, since a directive was issued to the South African Police Force last year to “respect the privacy rights of cannabis growers and users and to ensure that minimally invasive methods are used when growing cannabis,” police officers attitudes have improved, King said. Securing the defendant's appearance in court.”
The father-of-two owns five cannabis shops in eThekwini and is soon to open a sixth in the upscale Durban North area, which means he plans to open a new cannabis shop in Umbilo at the end of 2021. It's very different from the original Canna Kings store, which opened in an upscale suburb and still owns it today.
His other stores are in Pinetown and the Durban suburbs of Montclair, Glenwood and Hilary. All other illegal drugs and alcohol are prohibited in all stores.
Currently, King has added more than a dozen staff members and says business is good.
Mr King is reluctant to share his monthly turnover, but it exceeds the R90,000 personal loan he took to start the business.
This was after his e-hailing vehicle became “dysfunctional” due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Although his profits are healthy, he says, “margins are under pressure” as competition into the market increases.
The first few years were “tough,” he admitted, but “discipline and financial management” made the expansion possible. He is a tax-paying citizen and donates to the UIF, which means that despite the pervasive “gangster” stigma within the industry, top-tier cannabis businesses can and do contribute to the economy. He emphasized that this is proof.
“All my legal boxes are checked. It's just the law that's holding me back.”
Mr King says his ambition is to open branches across South Africa once the bill is passed, ultimately giving him the “freedom to grow without worry”.
Like thousands of cannabis entrepreneurs across the country, Mr. King sources his supplies from all over South Africa and is working to comply with the law that allows him to sell a variety of cannabis-infused products to people over the age of 18 for personal use, whether recreational or otherwise. A “gray zone” is assumed. Or medicinal.
He said the communities near his stores have embraced the concept, and he's been surprised by the demographics of consumers. At his Glenwood and Umbilo stores, most of the customers are students, but at other stores the age range extends into their 50s.
The Private Cannabis Bill was passed by the National Council of States earlier this year and is awaiting signature by President Cyril Ramaphosa, but King considers it “haphazard” and “restrictive”.
“You're allowed to do this, but you're not allowed to do that. If we're going to legalize this, we have to do it thoroughly, not with one foot in the door and one foot out. No,” he said.
The bill allows the cultivation, possession and consumption of cannabis, but limits the amount that can be possessed and carried in public.
It is also prohibited to sell plants without a license or permit.
The framework for commercialization was left to future discussions.
The enabling legal framework for hemp and cannabis is part of Ramaphosa's Operation Brindlera. The president said the potential multi-billion rand industry could create 130,000 jobs, but the need to ease existing policies meant the move would move at a snail's pace. in the process of.
According to King, cannabis should be seen as the fuel for a new economic revolution.
“I think the government is holding back.” [on cutting the red tape] Because they're trying to find ways to make even more money out of it.
“But we can't limit this,” he said, adding that it would bring “exciting changes” if cannabis' full potential was unleashed into the economy.
