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.
In a first for the local cannabis industry, a private cannabis club has stepped out of the regulatory twilight as headline sponsor the biggest cannabis event in Africa. BudBox’s decision to be lead partner for the 2026 Cannabis Expo is a bold one and reflects the growing confidence of the responsible adult-use sector.
Where does one begin to tackle the problems residing in the draft regulations of the Cannabis Act? They just don’t come from a practical starting point argues Charl Botha, who wonders if anybody who drafted the new rules has ever grown a cannabis plant.
Last year the President said in his SONA: “We want South Africa to be leading in the commercial production of hemp and cannabis.”. This year in his SONA, he said: “We want South Africa to be leading in the commercial production of hemp and cannabis.” Kinda sums up cannabis policy being stuck on repeat..
Mystery surrounds R11 million of funding allocated to the Mpondoland Cannabis Belt Association but was never received. The funds were apparently released in 2024 by the Department of Small Business Development, which cannot account for exactly where the money has gone.
Private cannabis clubs provide a solution to the glaring contradiction in the Cannabis Act which has made possession legal but criminalizes access to a constitutional right. Although private clubs have been excluded in the draft regulations, there are positive signs that Government sees their merit.
After seven ‘final’ cannabis regulatory frameworks, South Africa is still no closer to implementing its National Cannabis Master Plan that was launched over four years ago. These are the six stumbling blocks holding back the potential of cannabis to be an economic driver for South Africa.
Eskom reports that an unnamed cannabis and strawberry farmer in the Randfontein area was disconnected on 9 February 2026 for owing R2,3 million in arrears. The man, who owns two farms, was arrested for illegally connecting to the state utility’s grid.
The SAHRC says there should be no further cannabis arrests while the regulations for the Cannabis Act are being finalized. It has again urged SAPS to respect the National Commissioner’s August 2023 directive calling for a halt to cannabis arrests.
The revised Plant Improvement Act has significantly raised the THC limit in hemp to 2%, but the Act goes much further than empowering the industrial cannabis industry, it creates an updated compliance system across the plant/propagation-material value chain.
Cannabis laws feel a bit like rush-hour traffic. There’s movement, but it’s not always smooth, and different lanes are moving at different speeds. In South Africa, the story is fundamental because the legal foundation for private adult use is now in place—but the commercial “how do we do this properly?” phase is still being built.
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