Cannabis in Lesotho Cannabis in Lesotho Cannabis in Lesotho is illegal for any use, but largely tolerated. Cannabis is widely produced in the country, being the nation's most significant cash-crop. In the 2000s it was estimated that 70% of the cannabis in South Africa originated in Lesotho. In 2017 Lesotho became the first African nation to grant a license for the cultivation of medical cannabis. Cannabis is known as "matekoane" in Sesotho language. Cannabis use dates back to at least the 16th century in Lesotho, when the Koena people traded cannabis to the local San tribes in exchange for land around 1550. By
History of Lesotho 1855. The country set up diplomatic channels and acquired guns for use against the encroaching Europeans and the Korana people. Territorial conflicts with both British and Boer settlers arose periodically, including Moshoeshoe's notable victory over the Boers in the Free State–Basotho War, but the final war in 1867 with an appeal to Queen Victoria, who agreed to make Basutoland a British suzerainty. In 1869, the British signed a treaty at Aliwal with the Boers that defined the boundaries of Basutoland and later Lesotho, which by ceding the western territories effectively reduced Moshoeshoe's kingdom to half its previous size. The extent