South Africa occupies a unique position in the rapidly developing legal cannabis market. With a government that seeks to legalize and develop the cannabis and hemp sectors as a sunshine industry and a private and community sector desperately willing to engage, this should be a match made in heaven. Yet the country finds itself in a regulatory quagmire with market forces, both legal and illegal, now in control. Cannabiz Africa is your front row on the torturous journey towards a regulated adult-use commercial market.
The Parliamentary committee responsible for coming up with legislation allowing the commercial trade in cannabis says it will engage private sector stakeholders and researchers to come up with an evidence-based ‘omnibus bill’, which it has committed to being ready by mid-2027.
South Africa’s new presidential envoy on land and agriculture, Agribiz chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo has cautioned against over-enthusiasm that medical cannabis and hemp can be significant economic drivers. He says we should temper our enthusiasm in this regard, , particularly given the slow pace of reform and lack of regulatory clarity.
The Agriculture Department is to expand the current hemp permitting system to allow for high THC cultivation. This potential game-changer for was quietly revealed in Parliament recently in a DoA. presentation which outlined firm plans to encourage the expansion of cannabis cultivation way beyond hemp.
SAHPRA cultivator Jonno Worby provided MP’s with a reality check during his Parliamentary presentation. Although it centred on a retail-centred compliance model, he pulled no punches in telling MP’s that legitimate cannabis businesses were in free-fall because of the regulatory vacuum.
H3 Solutions’ Carl Botha provided MP’s in Parliament with a six-step guide to unlocking the legal trade in cannabis. If government was serious about the situation, it could be done in 90 days. He said this could be done without changing any regulations or introducing new laws.
Senior KZN government officials and national policy-makers will engage with stakeholders at a high level conference and expo on commercialising hemp, which will be held at the Elangeni Sun in Durban at the on 19 and 20 March 2026. The event has been put together by Ledile Textiles.
Almost a year to the day that the Minister of Health shocked the cannabis community with his hemp foodstuff ban, the SAMRC has unveiled its recommendations for how cannabis edibles should be regulated. On the cards is a THC potency tax, strict serving guidelines, marketing restrictions and oversight by a specialist body.
South Africa has the potential to capitalise on a domestic industrial hemp market opportunity valued at R40-billion by 2040; however, this requires proper industry development and policy support. That’s the finding of a new industrialization study unveiled by the Localisation Support Fund (LSF).
Less than 20 hours after public submissions deadline on the draft regulations for the Cannabis Act, a senior Justice Department official has declared that all cannabis clubs are illegal. This astonishing revelation by the senior law advisor in charge of processing the Act, raises questions as to why the Department asked for public input in the first place.
The Government has finally woken up to the ‘wild west’ reality of the South African cannabis sector and has tabled plans to begin regulating THC and its channels to market. The DTIC updated MP’s on progress on the Cannabis Master Plan and its plans to tackle the ‘Grey Zone’ regulatory vacuum.
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