Cannabis reform without legal legitimacy is an illusion
South Africa's cannabis economy is poised for transformation, but it is being built on a legal contradiction. The department of trade, industry and competition has proposed a national licensing authority and commercialisation framework. Yet the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act (CfPPA) of 2024 still prohibits all forms of cannabis trade, cultivation for profit and distribution. This is not a technical oversight. It is a constitutional fault line.
We cannot licence what the law criminalises. Until the Act is amended to include commercial provisions or a new enabling Cannabis Commercialisation Act is passed, the department's proposals remain legally unenforceable. Officials risk overreach. Entrepreneurs face uncertainty. People are left in limbo.
Even the government acknowledges this. In a parliamentary Q&A session in June, the department's minister, Parks Tau, said: 'It is the intention of the [department] to address this aspect as soon as cannabis has effectively been removed from the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.'
While this reflects a degree of momentum, it's legally insufficient. Removing cannabis from the Drugs Act may lift criminalisation, but the CfPPA continues to prohibit dealing, trading and cultivation for commercial gain. In short, even if cannabis is no longer classified as a drug, it still cannot be sold or licensed under the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act when the Act comes into operation.
This legal misalignment has real-world consequences. The department's policy framework, while ambitious, suffers from structural blind spots:
It focuses narrowly on licensing without transitional support for informal traders;
It fails to protect small-scale cultivators from being displaced by large corporations;
It omits regulatory clarity around cannabis clubs and urban dispensaries;
It overlooks enforcement coordination across the South African Police Service, municipalities, and regulatory bodies; and
It excludes meaningful integration of indigenous knowledge systems into product development.
One major omission is the legal ambiguity about cannabis clubs, private collectives facilitating cultivation and sharing among adult members. Since the
Haze Club
case was dismissed in 2022 and its appeal withdrawn in 2024, the status of grow clubs remains undefined. This vacuum has enabled the proliferation of illicit urban clubs and pseudo-dispensaries selling untested products to non-members, tourists and minors, often with no age verification or dosage controls.
What South Africa needs is regulatory clarity, not criminal silence. Rather than banning cannabis clubs outright or letting them proliferate unchecked, the law should define them, regulate them and use them as strategic tools within a broader commercialisation policy. Ignoring their existence only empowers the illicit market.
South Africa must not repeat the mistakes seen elsewhere.
In Thailand, decriminalisation without proper controls led to youth exposure and market chaos. The government reversed its policy in 2025, reclassifying cannabis as a controlled herb, shuttering thousands of dispensaries, and leaving farmers in limbo.
In Italy, a sudden 2025 ban on low-THC products erased billions in legal revenue, criminalised compliant retailers, and triggered European Union-level legal challenges.
In the United States, fragmented state-by-state regulation has caused enforcement confusion, increased youth access, and resurgence of illicit trade, particularly in states failing to fund education and safety programmes.
In Canada, even with national legalisation, spikes in underage consumption, impaired driving and workplace incidents exposed the limits of reform absent cultural readiness and public health investment.
And in Mexico, international price competition with the US led to cannabis crop abandonment, pushing rural farmers into more dangerous illicit drug markets.
The common thread across these countries? Commercialisation without cohesive regulation, especially about cultivation, processing, distribution, retail, enforcement, education and cultural integration.
Cannabis is not just a commodity. It's a cultural and constitutional indicator, reflecting whether we are capable of reform that is inclusive, ethical and enforceable. A well-regulated industry could empower rural cooperatives, restore trust with legacy growers, elevate local brands on the global stage and reduce harm in urban youth sectors.
Properly regulated cannabis clubs offer promise. If legally recognised and governed, they could provide: controlled, adult-only access aligned with privacy rights; peer-based harm reduction and responsible usage education; traceable supply chains that reduce street-level trade; municipal licensing opportunities and tax reinvestment models; the promotion of community accountability and reinvestment; and entry-level platforms for small-scale cultivators operating in compliant, cooperative models.
The time has come to move beyond fragmented intent. Commercialisation needs:
Legislative legitimacy: Amend the CfPPA or pass a Cannabis Commercialisation Act;
End-to-end value chain governance: Link licensing to retail, enforcement, and branding;
Transitional and inclusive models: Support informal traders and vulnerable communities;
Cannabis club regulation: Recognise and govern clubs under civic and constitutional frameworks;
Enforcement clarity: Align the police, municipalities and DTIC to police illicit trade and protect minors and the vulnerable; and
Ethical branding and indigenous knowledge integration: Elevate products that reflect our biodiversity and cultural heritage. Develop premium South African cannabis products for global markets.
South Africa can build a cannabis economy that is just, lawful, inclusive, and resilient. But it starts with fixing the foundation. Anything less is not reform. It is an illusion.'
Adv Simi Pillay-van Graan is the chief executive of Trikar Enterprise Solutions.
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