Fields of Green for All (FGFA) and the recently-formed South African Cannabis and Hemp Industry Development Agency (SACHIDA) say there is “large-scale corruption at play as we have evidence of businesses bribing the SAPS on a regular basis, as well as using nefarious paperwork to justify their open trade in cannabis.”

In a letter to Parliament on 7 May 2025, requesting an update on the status of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 2024, which has yet to be gazetted into law, the two stakeholder organizations say there can be no transformation of the cannabis sector until such time as there are regulations in place.

The letter states that the real reason legacy farmers are being marginalized is that “facilities licensed by SAHPRA continue to flood the unregulated market with cannabis produced under license, meant for export. This is the real reason for our legacy rural farmers being disenfranchised and SAHPRA continues to turn a blind eye.”

It points out that this practice was bought to the attention of Parliament during deliberations on the Cannabis Bill but that nothing has been done about it.

It adds that “we were told in December 2024 that the Department was waiting for legal opinion around the regulations. How much longer must we wait with no communication or updates from the department? All this waiting exacerbates confusion, enables nefarious operators, promotes corruption and undermines the rule of law in South Africa.”

The organizations call on the Justice Department to urgently take concrete steps to introduce a regulatory environment.

“There is endless talk of how progress with Cannabis and Hemp will contribute to the well-being of some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in our country. None of these communities can benefit without the promulgation of regulations in order to avert this crisis” reads the letter.

Below is an excerpt:

“No amount of meetings and plans will negate the fact that the current situation is causing great harm to ordinary citizens and it is only the Department of Justice that can remedy this. Areas of grave harm are continuously being brought to our attention by our members:

1. Continuing arrests, arbitrary detention and harassment by the South African Police Service. This has been highlighted by the South African Human Right Commission in recent meetings with ourselves and members of the Rastafari Community, who are disproportionately affected by police action. This constitutes a grave Human Rights abuse and the SAHRC, a Chapter 9 institution, is notably concerned. The SAPS Directive issued in August 2023 is largely ignored.

   
   

2. The presence of many unlawful businesses in the Cannabis sector is facilitating the abuse of employees, as well as placing the general public in a vulnerable position with unregulated products being sold freely. There is also large-scale corruption at play as we have evidence of businesses bribing the SAPS on a regular basis, as well as using nefarious paperwork to justify their open trade in Cannabis.

   
   

3. Facilities licensed by SAHPRA continue to flood the unregulated market with Cannabis produced under license, meant for export. This is the real reason for our legacy rural farmers being disenfranchised and SAHPRA continues to turn a blind eye. This fact was brought to the attention of the Justice Portfolio Committee during deliberations over the CfPPA when it was still a Bill going through the public consultation process, yet it was ignored.

4. 
   

It concludes that South African cannabis communities “have been kept in the dark by the Department of Justice for too long now.”

“We ask that the Department of Justice provides us with an update as a matter of urgency. As always, we are ready with our recommendations for light touch, enforceable and Constitutionally sound regulations that will benefit ALL South Africans and end this perpetual cycle of harm caused by the current “crisis of illegality”.

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