Trade Minister Parks Tau’s Parliamentary update on the Cannabis Master Plan has exposed an alarming deficit between Government policy and actual reality. Charl Botha of H3 Legal Consultants, who framed the questions DA MP Roger Chance put to Tau, has put out a public memorandum calling for urgent action by Government as outlined below.

1.        Legislative Paralysis is Not a Policy

Minister’s Position:

Legal trade awaits finalisation of Cannabis for Private Purposes Act regulations and delisting from the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. Estimated timeline: FY 2026/2027.

Our Response:

• This implies a nine-year gap between the 2018 Prince ruling and any lawful commercial access.

• Meanwhile, communities are criminalised by default, without legal pathways or transitional protections.

• The moratorium on cannabis-related arrests, issued on 23 August 2023, remains ineffectively enforced, as SAPS continues to arrest cultivators, traders, and traditional healers.

   

Actions Required:

• Issue a public SAPS directive reaffirming the moratorium with clear application guidelines, circulated to all provincial commissioners and magistrates.

• Introduce interim exemptions or pilot regulations (e.g., Ministerial Notices or Cannabis for Private Purposes Act Schedule 6 carve-outs) to enable transitional legal supply chains under constitutional protection.

2.         Contradiction Between the Master Plan and Criminal Law

Minister’s Position:

No contradiction exists; Master Plan development is ongoing.

Our Response:

• The contradiction is evident: the Master Plan promotes commercialisation, yet the Drugs Act continues to criminalise all non-private cannabis activity.

• This undermines policy credibility and deters investment.

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Actions Required:

• Urgently repeal or amend Schedule I of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.

• Table the Cannabis for Commercial Use Policy as a Green Paper with public and parliamentary engagement.

3.         The Hypocrisy of a Silent Economy

Minister’s Position:

Incentives are available for manufacturing under existing frameworks; SAHPRA compliance required.

Our Response:

• SAHPRA pathways are cost-prohibitive, inaccessible, and tailored to pharmaceutical corporates.

• Traditional growers, cooperatives, and smallholders have no feasible entry point.

• While the government promotes cannabis as a development tool, the informal sector—responsible for sustaining cannabis cultivation for decades—is shut out.

Actions Required:

• Develop a parallel licensing stream under CfPPA Amendment, with tiered compliance for small-scale operators.

• Legislate Cannabis Inclusion Zones to preserve local strains, protect landrace IP, and promote rural economic upliftment.

4.         Moratorium Without Enforcement is Meaningless

Minister’s Position:

Moratorium on arrests effective since 23 August 2023.

Our Response:

• This moratorium has not been formally published, operationalised, or upheld across all provinces.

• Dozens of reports confirm ongoing raids, arrests, and harassment of small growers and healers.

• According to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), most arrests reported y the Rastafari community relate to personal possession—not dealing—highlighting a dangerous misuse of police discretion due to undefined quantity thresholds.

  
  

Actions Required:

• Publish the 23 August 2023 SAPS Directive online and in provincial communications.

• Include cannabis matters under the National Prosecuting Authority’s de-prioritised case schedule, consistent with Prince and Minister of Justice v Radebe precedents.

• Finalise quantity schedules in the CfPPA to remove ambiguity around possession and “dealing.”

5.         Protection of Genetic Sovereignty and Traditional Knowledge

Minister’s Position:

The Department of Agriculture is developing zoning frameworks; two hemp strains registered.

Our Response:

• The delay in zoning policy has already resulted in the contamination of local cannabis landraces through uncontrolled importation and unregulated crossbreeding.

• Without the urgent recognition of landrace regions and the protection of community-held intellectual property rights, South Africa risks losing the very genetic heritage that underpins its global cannabis value.

Actions Required:

• Declare Cannabis Cultural Heritage Zones under the National Heritage Resources Act.

• Establish community-run seedbanks and nurseries for local strains, backed by funding from the DTiC and Agricultural Research Council.

• Codify Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge protections in any licensing or export legislation.

  
  

Cannabis is legal in principle but criminalised in practice. Policy must stop being aspirational and start being operational.

This requires urgent coordination between the DTiC, SAPS, DOJ&CD, and the Departments of Health and Agriculture to:

Enforce constitutional rulings.

• Recognise and protect traditional knowledge and healers.

• Provide lawful access to medicine.

• Enable real participation—not just rhetoric—for communities that carried this sector through prohibition.

  
  

We do not need another plan. We need immediate action.

We remain committed to engaging constructively and look forward to a formal interdepartmental response.

Our coalition is ready to support inclusive cannabis reform—but time is running out for the communities still paying the price for delay.

Charl Botha B.Proc (S.A) 

(Electronically Signed) 

H3 LEGAL SOLUTIONS (CANNABIS STRATEGIC SPECIALISTS)

📧 Email: charl@h3legal.co.za 

📞 Tel: 078 213 2947