CANNABIZ AFRICA LEGAL DESK

Cannabiz Africa Legal Desk

In Association with Schindlers Attorneys

Schindlers Attorneys is South Africa’s first and only law firm to have a department dedicated to ‘M&R’ (‘medicinal’ & ‘recreational’) cannabis (“dagga”) law, advising both international and local clients. Schindlers’ department focuses on five primary areas relating to M&R cannabis advice. These are:

Cannabis Corporate & Intellectual Property law;
Medicinal Cannabis Licensing and Compliance;
Recreational Cannabis law;
Litigation involving reviews of decisions by state functionaries & the protection and preservation of intellectual property, statutory and common law rights;
Criminal Defence Litigation that includes High Court litigation for Stays in Prosecution.

The department is run by three partners, with professional support staff, all of whom have varying skills sets in one or more of the five fields.

Contact Schindlers Attorneys

Contact Details

(W) schindlers.co.za

(E) cannabis@schindlers.co.za

(T) +27 (0) 11 448-9600

(F) +27 (0) 86 608 9600

Melrose Arch Offices

Second Floor
3 Melrose Boulevard
Melrose Arch
Johannesburg
South Africa

Postal Address

PO Box 10909
Johannesburg
2000
South Africa

24HR-Emergency Bail Hotline: 083-631-2023

LEGAL DESK QUICK LINKS

State of Play Greenhouse Project

Cannabiz Africa’s Legal Desk publishes the current legal status of cannabis and hemp in South Africa . This report has been drawn up by Cannabiz Africa’s Legal Desk partners Schindlers Attorneys.

Schindlers is part of a new cannabis consultancy, Greenhouse Projects, which is being launched in association with business and investment advisor Pierre van der Hoven and pharmaceutical tech experts, Sativius. For more details contact pierrevdhoven@gmail.com.

Dagga as Medicine: Warning from the Cannabiz Africa Legal Desk

Cannabiz Africa believes cannabis should be completely legal and in time, we are quietly confident that it will be. As cannabis emerges from the underground into the mainstream economy there are pitfalls for both cannabis entrepreneurs and consumers until there is definitive legislative change. Far-reaching legislative change is expected this year, but in the meantime, the justice system is clear that the Law is the Law. Cannabis dealing remains illegal and that arrests will continue until such time as

Canapax founder, the controversial Russel de Beer, was arrested by the Hawks last week at his Hartebeestpooort property. They put out a statement saying they would link the current charges he is facing to the ones relating to his arrest in 2019 relating to his Canapax brand in which he claimed it was legal to sell cannabis under the auspices of it being a traditional medicine.

It has been bought to Cannabiz Africa’s attention that Canapax franchises are still operating out there. In light of this, a word of caution from Schindlers Attorneys Paul-Michael Keichel:

“Please note that nowhere in traditional healers’ legislation does it allow for the sale of prohibited and/or scheduled substances”

PCC’s: Warning from the Cannabiz Africa Legal Desk

The legalization of cannabis is underway but there is a lot of legal grey area in terms of possession of ‘adult use’ or recreational cannabis. A vast number of private cannabis clubs (PCC’s) have emerged claiming to be operating within the law through various membership models.

The PCC model test case is that of The Haze Club, where the prosecution has been held back pending a High Court decision on the legality of such clubs. Cannabiz Africa’s Legal Desk has the following warning to the public around PCC’s. This statement has been drafted by Cannabiz Africa Legal Desk partner Andrew Lawrie of Schindler’s Attorneys,

“Pending the outcome of the THC high court application, which will hopefully be heard on 14 June 2021, the public is advised to refrain from conducting activities associated with the now commonly known “Grow Club Model”, without taking proper advice.

Power Players

Power Players takes a slightly different view this week. Our top two players this week are the South African ministers who are the biggest obstacles to their own government’s cannabis reform initiative.

Cannabiz Africa believes the following two accused should be in the dock instead of the scores of ordinary South Africans arrested for trying to make a living out of a plant that provides a service to society.

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Fields of Green For All (FGFA) co-founder, Myrtle Clarke is still out on bail despite the fact that her court case was a trigger for South African cannabis reform. She deserves to be in the prosecutor’s seat instead of the dock. We can’t put it better than she herself did at the launch of the FGFA Manifesto on 20 April 2021: “Mr Lamola, we reject your Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill entirely. Every word of it. How can you assign an advocate who was on the opposing side of the courtroom in the Western Cape High Court Application (to legalize cannabis) to oversee the legislation? You got a prohibitionist to write the bill! That’s what you did Mr Lamola. Mr Cele and Mr Lamola, we will fight your ignorance, your lack of cognizance of the law, your bullying and disregard for our human rights every single day ”

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What doesn’t this guy get? South Africa’s Justice Minister has displayed a dazzling combo of stupidity, ignorance and/or cynicism in getting a prohibitionist to draft the country’s new cannabis laws. It’s been revealed that the architect of the draft Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill appointed by Lamola was actually on the opposing bench that lost the Consititutional Court debate about the criminality of cannabis. As every lawyer in town has pointed out, free of charge, the Bill will never become law because it is riddled with more contradictions than the ANC’s approach to integrity. Comrade Lamola! Please listen to the people, tear up the existing draft and come up with something more evidence-based than the mockery of this dog breakfast’s bill.

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The Cat in the Hat thinks cannabis is a gateway drug. Only problem is that he doesn’t understand that the gateway is an economic one that should be opened for the benefit of all South Africans. It’s his own government’s policy after all, and the NCMP envisages the decriminalization of cannabis and a contributor to the post-Covid economy. But instead of making a positive contribution to the debate, Cele is hell-bent on being a prohibitionist. It appears he’s hard of hearing unless the conversation happens to be around kick-backs on lucrative government property lease deals that could work in his favour.