Currently the only legal way to buy cannabis in South Africa is by having a doctor’s prescription issued in terms of Section 21 of the Medicines Act, which broadly speaking allows for alternative treatments.

Lack of framework opens the door for system abuse

It is no wonder that this provision is being widely abused given the rapid expansion of the consumer-driven cannabis retail ‘grey zone’ and the lack of a framework for legitimate medical cannabis dispensaries.

This has prompted the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to voice its concerns about consumer safety and to upgrade its systems to authenticate legitimate medical cannabis patients.

In a media release on 11 June 2025, the regulator says it has “learned that individuals and companies are operating unethically by presenting falsified SAHPRA licences to gain public trust and conduct business”.

It says that “SAHPRA is in the process of sourcing a system that uses barcoding as a means of authenticating these certificates. Furthermore, SAHPRA will also embark on a public outreach campaign, raising awareness on establishing the authenticity of licences.”

SAHPRA’s dilemma is that it is trying to regulate a sector where there are no regulations

SAHPRA has chosen not to disclose how many medical cannabis patients there are in South Africa, but Cannabiz Africa understands there are well over 20 000.  SAHPRA has not responded to numerous emails requesting details on how many medical cannabis patients are registered in terms of Section 21 and how many recognized medical cannabis service providers there are.

At the core of the issue is the clinical fact that there is no over-arching medical cannabis framework in South Africa. The financial incentive for medical cannabis service providers is in the fulfilment of the six month prescriptions, not in the actual sign-up of patients and there is no legal framework for cannabis dispensaries.

Therein lies SAHPRA’s dilemma.

It has no system of correlating legitimate medical cannabis prescription deliveries against individual patients, thereby opening a wide door for medical cannabis service providers to abuse the system in order to supply the recreational market.  

SAHPRA currently relies heavily on medical cannabis service providers to police themselves within ‘compliance’ guidelines, and does not have the inspectorate muscle to enforce regulations.

The other issue is the lack of guidelines regulating private cannabis clubs. South Africa finds itself in the unique situation where such clubs have been ruled as neither legal nor illegal according to different court judgements.

SAHPRA says a far-reaching review of cannabis regulations is underway

In the absence of any guidelines, many ‘grey zone’ operators are using the private club model to sell cannabis to consumers who ‘join’ their clubs for free before making their purchase.  Medical cannabis branding in many of these establishments is just window-dressing as all product transactions that happen through the private club model are beyond SAHPRA’s scope which is to look after the general public.

SAHPRA acknowledges that current regulations have been overtaken by circumstance and says far-reaching changes are under discussion. This emerged during the  CannaConnect Conference at Lonehill in Johannesburg on 27 and 28 May 2025, during sessions on medical and industrial cannabis. The key focus of the conference was to bring together regulators to focus on cross-border collaboration and standardization, and was well attended by government officials, regulators and private sector stakeholders.

During the conference SAHPRA’s head of regulatory compliance, Daphne Mokgadi Fafude, said that clearer guidelines will be forthcoming, particularly in aligning local SAHPRA licensed cultivators with the domestic market.

The discussions come against a backdrop where SAHPRA-licensed cultivators are increasingly turning to supplying the illicit cannabis retail market, the ‘grey zone’ where they are getting a better price for gram for flower than if they exported.

‘Most consumers aren’t buying medical cannabis, where’s their protection?’

Cannabiz Africa understands that SAHPRA has also been approached by certain parties to look at regulating private clubs so that it can vouch for the consumer safety of products on offer.

"This is really where it could make a difference" one “grey zone” operator remarked: “It’s not the medical cannabis service providers SAHPRA should be worried about, and whether they have fake certificates, it’s all the other guys who are outside the net they should really be concerned about.

“What’s the point of SAHPRA investigating fake certificates at outlets and not the products on the shelves that are for private club ‘withdrawals’ and ‘not for sale’. Anyone can walk into any cannabis retail outlet, get signed up as a private club member for free provided they can prove they’re over 18, and then be able to buy a whole bunch of high THC products that are unregulated. Where’s SAHPRA’s concern for consumer safety here?”

The operator said most 'grey zone' retailers wanted to operate within the law and be happy to comply with consumer safety standards and other municipal bylaws. "I mean how difficult is it to come up with a license system for dispensaries for medical cannabis and another for other adult-use outlets?"

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