President Ramaphosa has papered over the cracks in cabinet caused by his Health Minister’s hare-brained ban on cannabis related foodstuff.  A well-connected Cannabiz Africa source says that Dr Motsoaladi was reprimanded during this week's Cabinet meeting for his unilateral action which embarrassed the President and made a mockery of the country’s cannabis reform programme.

However, in the toned down version of the cabinet discussions from the Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni (pictured here), said only that Cabinet made it clear to Dr Mostoaledi that any future regulations “must be fully consulted upon, ensuring alignment with the Constitutional Court’s judgment, and should not contravene the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, which was proclaimed last year.”

Cabinet met on 26 March 2025 and welcomed the President’s decision a day earlier  to lift the ban which caused market mayhem and was described by various comentators as “illogical”, “unscientific”, “absurd”, “unprocedural” and “stupid”. It is interesting to note that no sector or interest group came out in support of the Health Minister, who claims he was acting in the interests of consumer safety in ‘restricting’ the sale of cannabis-related foodstuffs.

Ntshaveni said that during the meeting, the Health Minister had “expressed concern about unregulated imported foodstuffs flooding the South African market, containing hemp and cannabis. This has raised alarms about the potential health risks associated with these products.”

She said “In line with this, President Cyril Ramaphosa has affirmed his support for more stakeholder consultation and public participation on the formulation of new regulations that will limit health risks and the negative impact of foodstuffs containing cannabis and hemp, particularly on minors."

While Ramaphosa’s swift action to rescind the ban staved off multi-million rand damages claims against the Government, it has not addressed the basic problem underlying the whole sorry saga – there is a deep-lying structural fault in the way government departments act and a lack of accountability.

There has been no explanation for the ban, which Government sources say was chiefly the work of the Deputy Director of Health, Dr Anban Pillay, a long-time ‘denialist’ that cannabis in any form has any nutritional merit. He told News24 before the ban was lifted that it was part of a “grand plan”. Although he has not fleshed out in detail, what the ill-fated ‘grand plan’ was, it would appear that the intention was to set up a new, over-arching regulatory regime to govern the use of cannabis in food.

That is now history. Minister Ntshavheni said after the Cabinet meeting: “The regulations have been formally withdrawn by the Department of Health.”

The Minister emphasised the importance of a balanced approach to the growing hemp and cannabis industry in South Africa.

“If you recall, South Africa developed a hemp and cannabis strategy under the sixth administration, recognising the industry's potential. The objective is to grow this industry as a major economic sector, but we must ensure that it is regulated to safeguard vulnerable groups, particularly children.”

She said that while cannabis was part of South Africa’s economic strategy, regulations had to be put in place to protect “children and other vulnerable groups”.

' Western Cape Agriculture MEC, Dr Ivan Meyer, who was one of the fiercest critics of the ban, applauded the President’s decision.

“This will allow for comprehensive public consultation, ensuring that all voices, including those of business and health experts, are heard,” he said. “This will lead to the development of policies and rules that support the potential of the cannabis and hemp industry to generate jobs, improve public health, and boost economic growth.”  

However, the mystery question that remains unanswered is why hemp foodstuffs, which are already legal, were part of the blanket ban. And as FGFA’s Myrtle Clarke has pointed out: all cannabis infused foodstuffs are illegal anyway, highlighting the nonsensical nature of the ban.

At first blush it would appear that the President has reasserted his authority over cannabis reform, and he has been commended for his commitment to stakeholder consultation before any further regulations are released. But the deeper issues of governance have not been resolved, and the DTIC is yet to step up in its role of co-ordinating government departments which remain dysfunctional when it comes to dealing with cannabis issues.

However, stakeholders will take heart from the fact that the President has irrevocably committed himself to a course of public engagement on cannabis regulations and that non-government entities might finally have some form of recognized policy input.

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