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.
Entrepreneur Lebo Skosana has SABS approval for her nature-based skin, body and hair products marketed as Toca Essentials. Now she’s looking for new markets for her range, inspired by her grandmother, who’ passed down her old cannabis and Afrobotanical cosmetics recipes.
Lawyer Zurayda Mayet says private cannabis club operators should plan for “banking and tax friction” as the market continues to be a high risk environment. She says that operators should get a clear legal opinion on their operations in light of the Haze Club judgement and build their structures accordingly.
The single biggest mistake cannabis businesses can make is thinking cannabis is legal. It is not. Despite many commercial opportunities in the sector, lawyer Zurayda Mayet (pictured here) warns there are real legal hazards, and highlights five points of action stakeholders should consider in positioning themselves in an uncertain market
Route 420 seeks to put South African cannabis culture on the tourism map by linking communities across the country. Founder Cameron Bramley (pictued here) says by integrating cannabis into regional tourism offerings, a whole new world of experiential travel is opening up to local and international travellers.
Soft Secrets, a pioneer cannabis publication distributed in 27 countries, has extended its reach into South Africa. Italian publisher Fabrizio Dentini says he’s blown away by the local cannabis culture: “it is like opening a living book where every character is a protagonist and where every story can become a legend”.
The DA has called for the KwaZulu Natal government to pull out all the stops in developing the hemp value chain. MPL Hannah Lidgett says the hemp sector had the potential to create thousands of jobs and that the province should establish dedicated processing hubs for manufacture and export.
Mpondoland has brought South Africa’s current cannabis reform initiative to its knees. Failure to accommodate the thousands of legacy farmers in the Cannabis Act has resulted in a court challenge that will force Government back to square one in reformulating an inclusive cannabis policy. And that square is Mpondoland.
South Africa initiated global prohibition way back in 1923. Now it’s being forced to pay for this original sin by veteran activist Gareth Prince. His Western Cape High Court Legal Challenge aims to dismantle the remaining vestiges of prohibition once and for all and rebuld cannabis policy on the foundations of constitutional justice.
The foundations of a vibrant South African canna-tourism have been laid with the formalization of Route 420, the brainchild of Rolling Stoner founder Cameron Bramley. His team has put together a network of cannabis-friendly destinations and experiences and established a private cannabis travel club.
Writer Lee Hymers’ relationship with the plant goes way back to the days of the deep underground and he’s watched keenly how the cannabis landscape has unfolded. One of his take-outs on ICS 2026 was that while all the right conversations are happening ‘in the room’, there are tougher questions outside the door that need answering.
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