A major announcement slipped quietly under the radar after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting where the focus was on the Health Minister and the now-rescinded cannabis foodstuff ban: the Justice Ministry will consult stakeholders on the regulations governing the Cannabis Act before they are formally issued.

This is a significant reset by Government, which up to now has adopted a “top down” approach to the regulatory environment. The Justice Department has been sitting on the prospective guidelines since the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act was signed off by President Ramaphosa in May 2024. Since then the law has been languishing in a legislative waiting-bay, pending the release of the regulations which will give clarity to issues such as home grow plant limits and enable some form of commercial framework to be put on the table.

Until the regulations are gazetted, the Act remains in abeyance and the Drugs Act remains in force.

Since September last year, the Justice Department has said the regulations will be issued ‘soon’.

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said in a statement after the meeting on 26 March 2025:

“The Department of Justice, together with various other government departments, is co-ordinating an interdepartmental draft regulation for the full implementation of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act. These regulations will be issued for public consultation”.

The announcement means that three Government departments have now publicly committed to stakeholder engagement in the wake of the ferocious opposition to the cannabis in foodstuffs ban. Health, Justice and Trade will be framing a process in which the public will be able to have input on:

·      Regulations governing edibles and cannabis in foodstuffs;

·      How the hemp value chain should be developed;

·      The proposed regulations that will govern the Cannabis Act, and possibly those sections that have been deemed ‘unconstitutional’.

The net effect of the stakeholder resistance to the Health Minster’s unilateral ban is that President Ramaphosa has put public input at the centre of cannabis policy going forward. This just might make all the difference and mitigate the seven wasted years of empty Government promises and the millions of rand that entrepreneurs have lost as a result.

President Ramaphosa seeks a Trudeau-like legacy as the man who saw the potential of cannabis to reshape the South African economy.  He might just be back on track if he is sincere about policy co-creation with private stakeholders as per The Phakisa.

 #