Cannabis Development Council chair and long-standing cannabis legal activist, Gareth Prince, has brought a far-reaching urgent application before the Western Cape High Court that addresses a fundamental design flaw in South African cannabis reform.
At the heart of the problem is government’s attempts to give force to the 2018 Prince Judgement legalizing cannabis has resulted in the continued criminalization of legacy communities and “ongoing state-sponsored marginalisation”.
Along with the RasTafari Nation Council, and a collective of small-scale farmers, Prince urged the court on 14 April 2026 to put an immediate halt to cannabis arrests and to allow legacy communities to make a living from the plant.
Constitutionality of Cannabis Act is Under Scrutiny
Behind the application is a broader battle over the constitutionality of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act No 7 of 2024, which has yet to become legally operational. The Act is awaiting the finalization of regulations that will give force to the Act.
The Department of Justice is going through the public submissions that it received on the draft regulations by the 5 March 2026 deadline for stakeholder input. The draft regulations offered no solution to the core contradiction in the Act – consumption is legal but all channels of accessibility are illegal.
Meanwhile the Department of Trade and Industry will soon be putting out its draft cannabis commercialization policy for public comment. This will allow the regulated sale of cannabis and related products which stands in direct contradiction to the Cannabis Act, which criminalizes all commercial trade.
The new “omnibus bill’ being drawn up by the DTIC will largely relegate the Cannabis Act to history, its sole purpose having been to trigger the removal of cannabis from the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.
However, if Prince’s court challenge succeeds – or least is time-consuming, the Cannabis Act will remain locked in lawfare and overtaken by the proposed new legislation that is being drawn up.
The urgent application submitted by Prince et al, sheds a harsh light on the “arbitrary exclusion” of traditional users from the emerging legal economy. Despite the burgeoning global value of the hemp and cannabis industries, rural cultivators and Rastafari practitioners claim they are being systematically locked out by restrictive regulations.
‘Act Creates Structural Inequality in the Cannabis Framework’
“The current framework perpetuates structural inequality,” the applicants argue, noting that the “emerging legal cannabis economy” seems designed for large-scale corporate entities while leaving historically marginalised communities behind.
The third applicants—a collective of small-scale farmers—maintain that the current Hemp Regulations effectively act as a barrier to entry for those who have cultivated the plant for generations as a means of survival.
Prince told Newsday recently that the Cannabis Act draft regulations highlighted a disconnect between lawmakers and ordinary South Africans.
“Lawmaking is a participatory process and the cannabis community was brutally sidelined. Parliament pretended to listen but they didn’t hear us,” he said.
Prince remains concerned about the religious and cultural implications of the regulations, arguing that cannabis use has historically been embedded in South African customs and practices.
He also criticised the draft for focusing heavily on punishment rather than the rights of cannabis users.
As recently as late 2024, Prince continued to work with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on concerns relating to the wrongful arrest of adult cannabis users.
In March 2025, the SAHRC awarded Prince a Citation of Honour for his contribution to human rights and the advancement of the Bill of Rights.
Prince remains a prominent voice in the cannabis industry and has recently criticised government attempts to restrict cannabis-infused products.
He has also been involved in regulatory discussions through the Presidential Cannabis and Hemp Steering Committee and the Cannabis Development Council of South Africa.
Prince said he believed the draft regulations were one-sided and doubted public participation would significantly influence their final form.
“The regulations do not acknowledge the rights of cannabis users, or speak to South African conditions. It’s back to court for the cannabis community,” he said.
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