In an African first, a cannabis expo ... without any cannabis

Andre Kruger’s stand at Africa’s first ever cannabis exposition displayed an indoor growing tent, complete with state-of-the-art lighting imported from the US and fittings for a high-tech hydroponic irrigation system. What it didn’t have, however, was a cannabis plant. The four-day Cannabis Expo, which opened in Pretoria on Thursday, was a stark illustration of the legal grey area the nascent industry occupies in SA. In September, the Constitutional Court decriminalised the use and cultivation of cannabis in private space. But the decision did not legalise its trade or distribution. Even displaying cannabis in public remains legally dubious. So exhibitors at the expo got creative. Kruger, whose company Sombrero Hydroponics has seen a spike in customer inquiries since September, used two artificial poinsettias as stand-ins. “People just feel more comfortable now, because they don’t have this added thought in the back of their mind thinking, ‘What if the cops stop at my house?’” he sa...