The main positive that has come out of the Health Minister's short-lived cannabis in foodstuffs ban is that Government has now committed itself to public consultation on all future cannabis policy.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that there is no clear guiding framework for consultation or any indication of a time-frame for when these consultations will take place.

More alarmingly, the cannabis turf war between the Departments of Health and Agriculture has not yet been resolved and the DTIC, which has been put in charge of the Cannabis Master Plan has no regulatory authority in this sector. There is also no indication from government yet how the Department of Social Welfare is to be incorporated into the Master Plan.

This ‘Muddle of the Ministries’ has to be resolved if the President’s promise that no further cannabis regulations will be gazetted until stakeholders are consulted.

The three ministries committed to seeking public input are:

1. Health: Regulations governing cannabis and hemp foodstuffs;

2. Justice: Regulations to empower the Cannabis Act;

3. Trade, Industry and Competition: a framework for cannabis commercialization.

   
   

No time frame has been issued by any of the above, all of whom make frequent use of the word ‘soon’ in response to questions about when regulations will become public.

As important as the timing is the format of the consultation process: it is serves no purpose for each of the ministries to pursue its own engagement with the public as the Presidency has committed itself to a ‘whole plant’ approach.

The DTIC, which is the lead department now of the Cannabis Master Plan is likely to be in overall charge of stakeholder engagement. However, this will have to be mandated by the inter-ministerial cabinet committee at which each of the ministries are represented. The committee has not met since last year. Neither has the Master Plan’s Steerco.

This could be a drawn-out process.