H3 Legal Solutions’ Charl Botha has managed to secure a slot in Parliament to make a formal 30 minute presentation to MP’s on the National Cannabis Master Plan at 9.30 am on Friday, 6 February 2026.
H3 Legal Solutions said in a media statement on 5 March 2026 that the meeting represented “a major breakthrough in the long fight for equitable and sustainable commercialisation of South Africa’s cannabis industry.”
H3’s invitation by Parliament’s TIC Portfolio Committee comes “after more than two years of persistent, self-funded advocacy including 62 formal letters, comprehensive research submissions, multiple detailed position papers, iterative drafting, and tireless engagement with government stakeholders” according to Botha.
This is the first time that MP’s associated with trade and industry are hearing presentations on cannabis. Previous submissions were made to the Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee, which is part of the justice cluster, on the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act.
The meeting is significant in that it underscores Government’s commitment to engage with private stakeholders on cannabis commercialization before a draft policy is put to Cabinet by the DTIC next month.
This is the second engagement H3 has had with Government this year: in late January, Botha led a delegation that met the Department of Agriculture to discuss concerns about the new Plant Improvement Act. During that meeting, the Department undertook to review SAPS involvement in hemp permit applications and would forward the isues raised by H3 to the DTIC.
Botha says the H3 team presenting in Parliament will table critical concerns around:
* Structural barriers to fair commercialisation
* Licensing frameworks that risk entrenching exclusion
* Market access challenges for small-scale and historically disadvantaged growers and entrepreneurs
* Regulatory hurdles that continue to stifle investment, job creation, and transformation
* The urgent need for inclusive models that bring legacy producers, rural communities, and emerging black-owned enterprises into the mainstream economy,
“This is engagement at the highest level of legislative oversight,” said Botha. “For the first time, our evidence-based concerns about how the cannabis market is being built not just regulated will form part of the official parliamentary record (Hansard). Government can no longer hide behind silence or delay. This moment inserts reform arguments straight into the industrial policy discussion that will shape licensing, investment incentives, export readiness, and broad-based participation for years to come.”
Botha says the engagement is significant because the Portfolio Committee on TIC holds direct oversight over:
* The dtic and its industrial policy mandate
* Commercialisation frameworks and sector development strategies
* Licensing regimes, market access mechanisms, and inclusive economic participation
“The National Cannabis Master Plan, transferred to the DTIC to centralise policy, streamline licensing, combat regulatory fragmentation, and drive inclusive growth—sits squarely within this committee’s remit. By granting Team H3 this slot, Parliament is opening the door for direct input into the very architecture of South Africa’s emerging legal cannabis economy” says Botha.
He said the presentation had been a broad collective effort: “Team H3 extends deep appreciation to every supporter, researcher, drafter, and ally who contributed to this sustained campaign. What began as grassroots persistence has now reached the heart of Parliament’s economic oversight machinery.
“Team H3 remains committed to evidence-led advocacy and constructive dialogue. We look forward to a robust, transparent exchange with the Committee and to contributing meaningfully to a Cannabis Master Plan that delivers economic justice, innovation, and shared prosperity.”
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