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.
One man has been arrested and firearms seized during a Kwazulu Natal police raid on an unlicensed grow op (pictured here) in Camperdown in the Midlands. Police say thousands of cannabis plants and 70 buckets of processed cannabis were found during the ‘disruptive operation’.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has opened up its own investigation into the death of Ras Isa in Mowbray, Cape Town, in an apparent police search operation on 29 August 2025.
Fields of Green for All was admitted as amicus curiae (Friend of the Court) in the prosecution of Neil Lidell, in The Haze Club case back in 2021 and made a submission on behalf of all private cannabis clubs, questioning the legal rationale behind prosecuting dealers. These words hold true today, and the point made is sharper than ever given the ongoing ad-hoc arrests relating to cannabis transactions.
Is this all an exercise in mass deception, up there with Juicy Fields and other big-time scamsters? Guest writer, Lee Hymers puts argues that the Government is perpetuating the biggest con of the century, luring unsuspecting stakeholders into a system set up to extract fees, control access and protect state interests in the name of cannabis reform.
The Cannabis Act, when implemented will trigger amendments to the Road Safety Act, which specifically makes driving under the influence of cannabis an offence. Although roadside cops cannot identify drug use with their current breathalysers, you can be sure THC-testing for drivers is on its way.
Cannabis legal strategist Charl Botha says the recent directive from KwaZulu’s police commissioner Nhanhla Mkhwanazi contradicts that of the National Police Commissioner’s August 2023 moratorium on cannabis arrests and that, despite its good intentions, is out of kilter with Government policy to decriminalize cannabis.
This is the circular sent by Lt Gen Mkhwanazi to senior provincial SAPS officers on 9 September 2025, leaked to Cannabiz Africa
KwaZulu Natal provincial SAPS commissioner, Lt Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says the public seems to be misunderstanding the law by believing cannabis products can be legally bought and sold. He says that before there is any clampdown on illegal outlets, law abiding citizens need to know they are breaking the law in dealing with cannabis products.
If the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has a plan to deal with the multi-billion rand cannabis retail ‘Grey Zone’ it isn’t letting on. Last week’s DTIC update on the status of cannabis reform does not even acknowledge that the cannabis retail sector exists, never mind how it is going to deal with it from a regulatory perspective.
Cilo Cybin founder Gabriel Theron (pictured here) says the company is debt free, cash flush and ready to roll as it prepares for its listing to be transferred to the JSE’s main board at the end of the month.
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