The DTIC’s Sinah Mosehla appeared on the Cheeba webinar What the Hemp 2.0? on 18 March 2025 and warned companies that they should comply with the ban on cannabis foodstuffs gazetted on 7 March 2025.

“The ban says no one should sell, manufacture, import, process or unprocess foodstuff containing hemp seed oil, hemp seed flour or powder ,so it is very specific for food containing cannabis powder and oils” she said.

"So the impact that we at the DTIC will see, is that, because it is a new ban, those that are using cannabis to make foodstuff must cease production and those production lines will obviously have to stop because a ban is a regulatory tool of government. People who are doing anything against it, must be aware that of course there are implications.

“So companies need to comply, but with the hope that soon, the Department of Health (DoH) will look at developing regulations that guide how cannabis or hemp should be used in food production, including how to label food products appropriately.”

Mosehla’s colleague at the DTIC, Thembelihle Ndukwana, said the ban meant funding was no longer available for businesses using cannabis in foodstuff.

“In terms of incentives, as soon as the ban is lifted and regulations are in place, companies that produce foodstuffs containing cannabis can start applying for funding from the DTIC.”

Ndukwana told the 900 or so stakeholders listening in on the webinar that the Cannabis Master Plan would essentially be rebuilt from scratch. She said the DTIC was now in charge of the Cannabis Master Plan and would be reviving it through a commercialization policy for both cannabis and hemp.

But, she said, the regulatory framework “needed to be on point”.

She was confident that with DTIC Minister Parks Tau chairing the inter-ministerial committee on cannabis, that the “political will” to finalize the Master Plan was there.  The DoH is represented on the committee and participates in one of the Master Plan ‘working streams’ and Ndukwana hinted that they would be persuaded to relax the ban.

“Where things need to be unblocked, they will be unblocked so the sector can function” she said.

“The shift is to focus on industrialization and commercialization” said Ndukwana, adding that the DTIC’s role would be one of “strategic intervention in growing and expanding manufacturing capacity”.

She said: “We will be reconvening the government structures for the Master Plan which envisaged all purpose, ‘whole plant legislation for cannabis and hemp”.

“The Master Plan is not a government document” she said, “it requires co-creation with other social partners” and that business would be included in finalizing the Plan and when approved it would be translated into new legislation.

When pressed by session moderator Trenton Birch of Cheeba Africa as to whether a new law governing the commercial use of cannabis would be ready within the current financial year, Ndukwana said “We are on track for that. We are developing the cannabis and hemp commercialization policy and there’s been a lot of engagement internally from government, including bringing in funding institutions like the IDC (Industrial Development Corporation).

Ndukwana said the IDC’s funding model would not cover the entire costs of any project so other government-related entities that could provide finance would also be roped in.

“Say a company wants to put up a factory to produce cannabis-infused food, - hopefully the bans and the regulations are sorted - we will not be able to cover all the costs, that’s why the other funders are important”.

She said the process of stakeholder consultation on the DTIC’s commercialization policy was imminent.

“You should be on the lookout, we will be reaching out to you to co-create this Master Plan. We do believe it is an important industry, especially for our local farmers, especially those that have been in this industry from time immemorial. So we must make sure the sector works for them, that they can profit from this sector under which they have suffered for years”.

She said it was important for consumer safety that both imported and locally manufacturered products were labelled correctly. She suggested the DoH come up with a campaign to educate consumers through labelling “so whatever they buy comes from an informed decision”.

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