Cannabis in Lesotho the 19th century, cannabis was a staple crop in the kingdom. Cannabis is cultivated almost everywhere in Lesotho, including the capital, but the primary cultivation is in the central mountain zones and western foothills. In 2017, the Lesotho Ministry of Health licensed a South African firm to grow cannabis in Lesotho for medical and scientific purposes, the first such authorized establishment in Africa. In late 2017/early 2018, the Lesotho government licensed 5 companies to produce medical marijuana. Three of these companies have been partially, or entirely acquired by established licensed Canadian producers: In one joint South African-Lesotho operation in 2006,
Lesotho–United States relations Lesotho–United States relations Lesotho–United States relations are bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the United States of America. The United States was one of the first four countries to establish an embassy in Maseru after Lesotho gained its independence from Great Britain in 1966. Since this time, Lesotho and the United States have consistently maintained positive bilateral relations. In 1996, the United States closed its bilateral aid program in Lesotho. The Southern African regional office of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Gaborone, Botswana now administers most of the U.S. assistance to Lesotho, which totalled approximately