Gauteng based Hennie Venter (pictured above) says he wrote to the Minster straight after the ban and gave him seven days to nullify the proclamation or he would take legal action on behalf of the industry.

That seven days expired seven days ago, and the Venter, who is CEO of Cannabisness and MD of HempCare - and has a long and committed history of research involvement in cannabis - said that the matter was now heading for the courts and that damages would be sought.

He told The Citizen on 20 March 2025 legal proceedings would challenge the validity of the regulations published and claims would be instituted for financial losses incurred as a result of it.

“Everyone who invested and done research and development in this industry stand with their hands in their pockets looking at their investments coming down in flames.”

Friends of Hemp South Africa is also believed to be preparing to litigate. FOHSA co-founder M Ayanda Bam said damages from the Minister’s sudden ban amounted to tens of millions of rands which could be quantified. 

He told last week’s Cheeba What the Hemp 2.0? webinar: “It’s a complete obfuscation of the fact that they made a major blunder that has consequences beyond the cannabis industry because these are products that have been legally traded in SA for decades without any challenges, Now they’re affecting folks the likes of Woolworths, Shoprite, Dischem, Faithful by Nature. We are talking tens of millions of rand in terms of damages from this. It’s wholly unjustifiable.”

Cannabis Trade Association Africa chairperson Tebogo Thlapene has called for those involved in the making the decision to be forced to put their hands in their own pockets to recompense for the financial devastation caused by the ban be held personally liable for damages.

He told the same webinar that officials should be held personally liable for the financial havoc that they had caused as a result of the ban.

“Instead of using government money to protect themselves, we need to remove all of that and go at them personally; personally after the Minister of Health, personally after Anban Pillay and anyone else in that department”.

The ban has been roundly criticized as being constitutionally flawed, but as leading cannabis lawer PM Keichel reminds us, an absurd law is a law nonetheless, and needs to be obeyed. The point was reinforced by the DTIC who’s first response was not to challenge the ban but to order any company involved in the sale or production of any kind of cannabis-related foodstuff to ‘cease’ operations immediately.

“It’s a complete obfuscation of the fact that they made a major blunder that has consequences beyond the cannabis industry because these are products that have been legally traded in SA for decades without any challenges, Now they’re affecting folks the likes of Woolworths, Shoprite, Dischem, Faithful by Nature. We are talking tens of millions of rand in terms of damages from this. It’s wholly unjustifiable."

Business Day reports that over 1 600 licensed companies have been directly affected by the ban, as well as over 400 SMME’s.

Ruvekh Singh, director of BakedPMB, said the government action was unconstitutional.

“Instead of banning the substance, the government was supposed to regulate the market.”

Fields of Green for All CEO, Myrtle Clarke, said the ban was only going to create room for the black market.

"The ban is going to create a vacuum for the 'cowboys' to operate in the dark especially because it is not clear how enforcement is going to work. If there was better regulation there would be a body that puts checks and balances in place and hold establishment responsible for what they sell. We have been calling for regulations for years."

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