Contradiction in Proposed Cannabis Laws Reveals Constitutional Faultline
Government officials are working hard to bring two pieces of contradictory cannabis legislation into being. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act specifically forbids commercial trade while a new law is being drafted that will allow it. Adv Simi Pillay-van Graan (pictured here) points out that this is not a technical oversight, it’s a constitutional faultline that needs to be addressed.
Cannabis Packaging: Searching for Sustainable Solutions as Plastic Waste Becomes an Issue
One gram of cannabis in the States can generate up to 70 times its weight in packaging materials. That fact alone highlights the issue of plastic waste that the cannabis industry across the world is producing, raising questions of sustainabiity going forward.
SAHPRA ‘Fake Certificates’ Allegedly Used For Growing Cannabis, Never Mind Selling the Stuff!
Legal cannabis strategist Charl Botha of H3 Legal Solutions has lodged a formal complaint with the South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA) over a new form of ‘fake licence’ on the market, this one apparently authorized by the DTIC as well as the regulator. Read his letter to SAHPRA here.
SAHPRA Warns Public Over Fake Medical Cannabis Licenses
The regulator says its concerned about the increase in the use of fake SAHPRA licenses by unethical businesses as the cannabis retail ‘Grey Zone’ continues to expand rapidly. It has urged the public to be cautious when dealing with service providers as many are illegal.
SAHPRA Upgrading Systems to Deal with Surge in ‘Fake Licenses’, Bigger Regulatory Review Underway
SAHPRA says it is sourcing a barcoding system to authenticate Section 21 medical cannabis service providers. This comes amidst a surge of new businesses signing up medical cannabis patients to supply them with their ‘prescriptions’, and this is ringing the regulator’s alarm bells loudly.
DTIC Minister Tau: ‘Justice Dept Must Scrap Drugs Act Before Commercialization is Put on the Table’
The DTIC is waiting for the Department of Justice to scrap the Drugs Act before it can implement a commercial framework for cannabis. DTIC Minister Parks Tau has told Parliament that a draft cannabis commercialization policy is under internal discussion and will be released for comment once it is ‘finalized’.
Tau’s Time-Frame: New Cannabis Law Must Be Passed by end February 2026
Trade Minister Parks Tau (pictured here) says the Agriculture Department is working on a cannabis zoning plan to support legacy farmers and safeguard local cannabis landraces. He says at the same time the DTIC is working on an overall cannabis commercialization policy which it wants to be in law in nine months time.
Botswana Stakeholder Conference Planned: ‘Cannabis Policy Not Just Up to Govt Alone’
The private sector must get in on the ground to help shape Botswana’s cannabis and hemp policies. This is the view of IETD director Charity Kennedy (pictured here) who is organizaing a stakeholder conference at the end of August 2025 to help shape Government policy.
In the Game? In Gauteng? You’d be Crazy to Miss the 2025 Cannabis Expo This Weekend
The Sandton Convention Centre will become the cannabis capital of Africa this weekend as thousands of people are expected to visit the long-awaited Cannabis Expo 2025, presented by Synergy Wellness.
Cannabis Act Signed Off One Year Ago. Today, Nowhere to be Seen
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed off on the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act a year ago, but the law has not yet been enacted into law. This is now SEVEN years since the Constitutional Court instructed Government to come up with a law regulating the private use of cannabis by adults.