What must have come as a huge relief for THC director Neil Lidell and his co-accused Ben van Houten, is something of a disappointment to the rest of the cannabis industry.

The issue at hand is the out of court settlement reached between Lidell’s lawyers and the State which led to his decision to withdraw his application to the Supreme Court of Appeal which was due to have been heard next Tuesday, 19 November 2024.

The Haze Club (THC) lawyer Paul Michael Keichel told Cannabis Africa on 14 November 2024: “THC’s appeal was withdrawn yesterday after an agreement was reached between the Appellants and the State Respondents. The terms of that agreement are necessarily confidential.”

Each party was ordered to pay its own costs.

Keichel has so far not responded to questions as to what implications the settlement has for other private cannabis clubs. The SCA ruling had been eagerly awaited by private cannabis clubs who are seeking final legal certainty on their status. This means they continue to exist in a ‘grey zone’.

Read the brief settlement ruling here.

Fields of Green for All, which was amicus curiae (an interested party) in the matter, said it had received notice of the appellants withdrawal of their SCA appeal.

“What we do know is that the case is now complete and we do not get further clarification on the legality of Dagga Private Clubs. We also know that the reasons for the settlement were personal but probably involved dropping of the criminal charges” said FGFA director Myrtle Clarke.

This is a developing story.

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