In his first public comments on cannabis, The new Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen (pictured above), who is also leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance, says the GNU regards the development of the cannabis economy as a “critical priority”. He also says one of his short-term objectives is to find a way of bringing rural cannabis farmers into a sustainable situation.

He told BusinessTech on 3 October 2024 that “the bureaucratic obstacle at the moment is that there are conflicting laws, so there needs to be legislative alignment.”

Steenhuisen said the GNU was putting together a “legislative sandbox” to streamline cannabis reform (“Sandbox” refers to a regulatory mechanism where special laws could be enacted in one jurisdiction that do not apply to the country as a whole).

He told BusinessTech that the Justice portfolio and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) have “embarked on a process to align various Acts which conflict in detail around cannabis use, cultivation and commercialisation.

“Cannabis for personal use has been passed in one piece of legislation, but it is still a criminal offence to do much with other pieces of legislation, so the government is putting together a ‘legislative sandbox’ to discuss how we can amend legislation so that it is streamlined” he said.

Looking at immediate priorities, Steenhuisen said “From my perspective, I want to make sure that small growers are protected.”

He said that because cannabis was such a catalytic industry, big international companies could come in and buy up the licences and ice out small-scale, local growers.

“The Agriculture department wants to find a way to protect small growers – particularly those in rural areas where traditionally the growers have been women and possess a huge amount of the local knowledge of the varieties and strains and what grows where, etc.”

“They need to be protected [and empowered by the Department] so that they don’t end up being crowded out of a sector that has an opportunity to really empower those rural local communities and people who have the knowledge”.

Steenhuisen said that what his department is looking to do while regulatory conflicts are addressed is set aside parts of the value chain to ensure a long-term and sustainable livelihood for small-scale growers.

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