The head of SAPS Legal Services, Western Cape, Major General M.E.L Jojo, has signed an official directive instructing all police stations in the province to make a plan to visit cannabis outlets with a questionnaire about their operations.
The stated purpose of the instruction, which was issued in the last week, is “to collect and verify operational data on cannabis outlets across the province for internal collation and potential onward transmission to other government departments involved in ongoing cannabis policy and regulatory reform processes” .
Maj Gen Jojo says that participation by outlets “is voluntary and in good faith”. He says a “standardised questionnaire has been developed under this directive is being actively distributed during on-site visits by designated SAPS members”.
The Western Cape SAPS legal division approach to the ‘Grey Zone’ stands in complete contrast to that issued by the KwaZulu Natal SAPS legal department which instructed divisional commanders to clamp down on cannabis outlets as they were breaking the law.
Charl Botha of H3 Legal Solutions says he has verified the authenticity of the SAPS Western Cape Legal Services directive, the last page of which bears Maj Gen Jojo’s signature. Officers conducting the visits to outlets will not make any arrests or issue warnings, and will have a copy of the directive confirming their good intent.
Botha says the directive marks the first officially confirmed, province-wide SAPS data-collection exercise targeting cannabis retail and dispensing operations since the 2018 privacy judgment and the enactment of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act in 2024. The direct involvement of SAPS Legal Services (rather than Visible Policing or organised crime units) indicates that the intelligence is intended primarily for policy and regulatory development rather than immediate criminal enforcement.”
He recommends that all Western Cape cannabis businesses that receive the questionnaire
should:
1. Treat the request as legitimate and officially authorised;
2. Complete the form accurately and transparently (particularly licensed and compliant operators);
3. Have responses reviewed by a cannabis-specialist attorney before submission
He says :This is a critical opportunity to place verifiable compliance data on official government records at a time when national cannabis legislation and scheduling regulations remain under active review”, adding that H3 Legal will monitor developments and is available to assist operators with questionnaire responses and broader regulatory strategy.
#
