DTIC: ‘Setting Up a Commercial Cannabis Framework is Our Priority!’
The DTIC is rebooting the Cannabis Master Plan telling key stakeholders that it’s priority is to commercialize cannabis. The Department wants to fast-track changes in the law to allow this and open up the channels of communication within government departments.
CBD Use Should Not Register Positive in Workplace Drug Tests, But THC is a Different Story
Just because cannabis can be consumed legally in the privacy of your home doesn’t mean you can come to work stoned. That’s the view of substance testing equipment producer Rhys Evans, who says employers and employees need to understand how the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act affects the workplace.
Compliant Players Feel the Pain as Losses Rack Up in the Absence of Regulations’
Government promises have cost private cannabis stakeholders billions of rand, left traditional growers in the lurch, and have created a regulatory vacuum which is penalising legitimate businesses. Cannabis legal activist Charl Botha says it’s time a multi-stakeholder cannabis task team to was set up to get a new overarching cannabis law on the books in 2026.
FGFA and UCT Launch Data-Driven Police Reform Programme to Highlight Where the System is Going Wrong
FGFA will be using its presence at the Cannabis Expo to raise awareness and cash for its new research project. The data-driven exercise, in partnership with UCT, hopes to provide police management with the evidence they need to reform SAPS from within to stop using cannabis arrests to persecute the poor
Health Department Challenges Tobacco Industry Over Safety of Vaping
The Health Department wants to impose greater restrictions on the sale of vapes, accusing the tobacco industry of misrepresenting e-cigarettes as a means of ‘harms reduction’. Vaping is getting out of hand amongst youngsters, say public health advocates, who want the Bill to put severe restrictions on how vaping products are sold and displayed.
Psychiatry Association Warns ‘Ketamine Craze’ Coming to SA – Along with its Breakthrough Benefits and Associated Dangers
The anaesthetic ketamine has evolved into a so-called game-changing treatment for depression and its use in South Africa is on the rise. More and more ‘ketamine clinics’ are appearing online offering treatments and cashing in on the lack of guidelines, while recreational use of the drug appears is gaining popularity.
UN Drugs Report 2025: North Americans Now Consuming More Cannabis Than Anyone Else, Anywhere
Over 20% of North Americans have consumed cannabis over the past year. The comparable figure in West Africa is 10% and in South Africa 5%! The latest UN figures show that cannabis use has increased 34% worldwide over the past decade.
Released Cannabis Leader to Sue Namibian Govt for N$1,25 Million for Human Rights Abuse
Ganja Users of Namibia President Brian Jaftha spent nearly two years in jail for possessing 100 gm of cannabis and forfeited assets to the state of N$160 000. He was released early as a gesture of goodwill by the Government, but tells Africa Editor John Makoni in his first interview since his release, that this is not justice enough and is to sue for N$1,25 million in damages in his personal capacity.
Morocco Becoming Ghana’s Mentor in Developing a Cannabis Regulatory Framework
Ghanaian officials will head to Morocco this month to learn from one of Africa’s most experienced cannabis producers, as Accra prepares to bring an age-old illicit crop into the legal economy. This follows a meeting earlier this year in which Morocco offered Ghana assistance in establishing a regulatory framework that includes smallholder farmers.
DTIC: SA Cannabis Licensing System to be Completely Overhauled and Placed Under Control of a Central Cannabis Authority ASAP
The DTIC’s draft cannabis commercialization policy envisages the centralization of all licensing issues under one roof – that of a ‘central authority’ that will establish and oversee a completely new cannabis and hemp licensing regime in which retailers will be accommodated.