The DTIC released its latest cannabis and hemp funding guidelines on 23 January 2025 and said all applicants needed to have their products analysed by one of four official labs – Afriplex, (Paarl) NAFS (Centurion), Qure (Cape Town) and Vinlab Stellenbosch..

Only the rich and well-resourced need apply as the guidelines are highly restrictive and contradict its own draft policies on commercialisation. However, the guidelines are the first step towards standardization in the South African cannabis industry.

READ: the DTIC’s Cannabis and hemp funding guidelines here

READ: Details on the four labs appointed by the DTIC

The DTIC says “the checklist is only intended to guide and assist prospective applicants with the applicable legal framework but it is not exhaustive. A duty rests on a prospective applicant to ensure that its application is compliant with all legal requirements pertaining to the manufacturing of its product containing Cannabis / Hemp for which it seeks support from the DTIC, and has the necessary licences / permits / authorisations in place”.  

Guidelines Reflect DTIC’s Muddled Thinking

One of the immediate issues emerging from the guidelines, besides the excessive red tape, is that the DTIC’s own thinking is muddled and contradictory. It also ignores all the work done already by the President’s Phakisa project in which it was proposed that all cannabis be classified as ‘industrial’, therefore doing away with THC limits in cannabis grown for non-human consumption purposes.

A source close to the DTIC says a new team has been put in place to oversee cannabis commercialisation and suggests generously that “they are still finding their feet”.  No-one in the Department has been appointed a spokesperson on cannabis matters, and Cannabiz Africa has been unable to get official comment.

A Step Towards ‘Standardization of Cannabis Testing Protocols’

Despite the restrictive guidelines relating to THC and CBD limits, the appointment of four official cannabis testing laboratories reflects the beginning of some form of standardization being introduced into the cannabis industry. And it is a testimony to the growing professionalism of each of the appointed labs, all well-known and respected in the industry.

Afriplex is one of the DTIC’s designated labs. CEO Danie Nel tells Cannabiz Africa that this latest development is “is a significant step towards standardization of cannabis analytical testing protocols and will deliver more accurate results on products produced by South African cultivators and processors”.

Afriplex, which tests products mainly for export, is gearing up to be an exhibitor at the upcoming Australian Medical Cannabis Conference in Brisbane. Nel says Afriplex is focusing on the international market and has built up a reliable customer base in the Far East.

He says “Our labs are fully occupied. Most of the analytical testing relates to product development for international players in the cannabis industry”.

Guidelines Don’t Address Realities

The most glaring problem from a hemp perspective is that the DTIC will only fund hemp-related projects only if the THC level is proven to be less than 0,2% THC. Most government advisors have pointed out that this is unrealistic given the natural “THC spike”, in which South Africa’s climatic conditions often naturally push THC levels up in excess of that level. In fact, a draft commercialisation document being drawn up proposes a 2% THC limit in industrial cannabis. The psychoactive effects of THC are generally understood to be negligible below 5%.

The issue from a medical cannabis perspective is that the restrictive SAHPRA limits remain in place, having been criticised by stakeholders as unrealistic as they for curtail the efficacy of certain cannabis-related products. SA’s major CBD manufacturers, Goodleaf and Cilo Cybin have both withdrawn their product ranges from South African shelves because of the SAHPRA restrictions.

Medical cannabis funding is only available to entities that already have a SAHPRA Section 22 license. As one business person commented: “It looks like this funding is aimed to help licensed growers gear up to meeting European import standards, in other words to get EU GMP certification. It’s certainly not aimed at entry level cannabis entrepreneurs as the cost of putting up a SAHPRA-compliant facility can easily be over R20 million”.

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