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–Russia relations the most prominent of whom is Monyane Moleleki, the Basotho foreign minister, who graduated from Moscow State University. Since 1996, the Russian government provides to Lesotho, scholarships for three Basotho citizens to obtain basic higher education, and one scholarship for a Basotho citizen to study in graduate school. Lesotho–Russia relations Lesotho–Russia relations () are the bilateral relations between Russia and Lesotho. The Soviet Union and the Kingdom of Lesotho established diplomatic relations on 1 February 1980. The Soviet Ambassador to Mozambique was initially concurrently accredited to represent the Soviet Union's interests in Lesotho. Yuri Sepelev was appointed as the first