Latest news with #CannabisforPrivatePurposesAct
The South African
11-08-2025
- The South African
Major dagga bust, arrest highlights zero tolerance for SA's dealers
This zero-tolerance policy was evidenced by a major dagga bust in Fisantekraal, Western Cape over the weekend. On Saturday, 9 August, Metro Police officers arrested a suspect after seizing more than four kilograms of dagga (marijuana) from a private residence. Officers acted on a tip-off and were granted permission to search the premises, where they discovered a black bag containing 3.39 kilograms of dagga, a 221-gram parcel, 92 'bankies,' 93 dagga cigarettes, and an undisclosed amount of cash. The homeowner was arrested on charges of dealing in dagga. This arrest was part of a broader crackdown: the City of Cape Town's enforcement services made 241 arrests and issued over 62 000 fines for traffic and by-law violations in the past week alone. Metro Police accounted for 42 of those arrests and issued 2 129 fines. 'The devastating impact of drugs on our communities continues long after we've taken the dealers off the streets,' said Mayco Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith. 'Not only are families destroyed, but drugs fuel many other crimes and illicit dealings.' During the search, a black bag containing 3.39 kilograms of dagga was seized. Image: CoCT South Africa's cannabis laws have evolved significantly since the Constitutional Court's landmark 2018 ruling, which legalised the private use and cultivation of cannabis for adults. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, passed in 2024, formalised this right – allowing individuals to possess and consume cannabis in a personal capacity. However, selling, buying, or distributing cannabis remains illegal. Earlier this year, The South African reported on a beloved nursery in Cape Town that was selling cannabis plants to the public. This story highlighted a 'loophole' in the legislation, as the Act does not explicitly ban the sale of cannabis seeds or seedlings. Medicinal marijuana meanwhile was legalised in South Africa in 2017. To that end, the nursery's offering addressed a range of ailments. In March the South African government did a quick U-turn on banning the sale, importation and manufacture of food products containing hemp and cannabis. Local laws claim to draw a firm line between personal use and commercial activity. Anyone caught dealing – especially with large quantities or packaged products – faces criminal charges, fines, and potential imprisonment. This latest bust is a reminder that while private use is protected, authorities maintain a zero tolerance approach to cannabis dealing, viewing it as a gateway to broader criminal networks and social harm. 'Despite arrests, the suspects are often back on the street a few days later, to continue their criminal dealings,' Smith added. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
25-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Community leaders call for action against illegal cannabis stores in Chatsworth
Residents said outlets were "freely selling" cannabis products close to schools and religious organisations. Image: Reuters COMMUNITY leaders in Chatsworth are urging authorities to take action against the proliferation of illegal cannabis stores, highlighting concerns about public safety and the impact on local youth. They said outlets were "freely selling" cannabis products close to schools and religious organisations. This comes soon after Mmamoloko Kubayi, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, confirmed that regulations required for the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act to be implemented would be finalised by March 2026. In a parliamentary response to DA MP Tobias Chance, Kubayi said the Act could only be implemented once her department had received feedback from all concerned departments. Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ These include the departments of health; agriculture; trade, industry and competition; social development; small business and development, the Presidency, and the SAPS. Yugen Pillay, chairperson of the Chatsworth Community Policing Forum (CPF), said despite the use of cannabis being decriminalised for private use, the public needed to remember that the sale of cannabis was still illegal. 'People are openly selling cannabis. The law regarding the sale of cannabis is quite clear. I have tried many times to get law enforcement to act on this, but they are still awaiting direction from their legal department. A directive that was unfortunately not forthcoming. 'It seems that the legal departments cannot decipher the legislation, and in the meantime, these stores are mushrooming all over. 'The use of cannabis can act as a gateway drug, and because it is so easily available, more and more people are using it. We are calling on the police to clamp down on these stores and start shutting them down," said Pillay. He said SAPS had issued a stern warning that the establishment of illegal dispensaries or outlets, online sites and social media platforms, which are marketing and selling cannabis and cannabis-related products to the public, remained illegal, except where specifically allowed in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act. 'Despite warnings, cannabis stores continue to open everywhere. Some of these illegal businesses, purporting to operate legally, are also being sold to members of the public as franchises authorised to deal in cannabis and cannabis-related products. 'Dealing in cannabis remains a serious criminal offence. Police are mandated to and will act, not only against businesses that sell cannabis illegally, but also against the customers who buy these products." Cyril Pillay, the chairperson of the Chatsworth Spiritual Crime Prevention Forum, said: "The increase in cannabis stores in our community is adding to all the social ills we are facing. It is compounding our problems and leading to the degradation of our society. This is also adding to the social economic challenges that already exist. 'People are complacent and due to poor monitoring, we have more than one cannabis store per area. We need proper monitoring and more police operations to curb this." Denzil Devan, a community leader in Mobeni Heights, said the sharp increase in cannabis stores across communities highlighted a significant gap in legislation. 'While liquor outlets are bound by strict zoning laws, such as maintaining a set distance from schools, cannabis stores are exploiting the absence of similar regulations, allowing them to operate virtually anywhere. This loophole poses serious concerns for public safety and urban planning,' he added. Devan said it was more concerning that outlets have included smoking lounges and cannabis bars. 'Many of these outlets have evolved into cannabis smoking lounges or cannabis bars, which likely goes far beyond what Parliament intended when it moved to decriminalise cannabis for personal use and regulate products like cannabis oil and hemp. Without clear policy direction and enforcement, we risk creating unregulated environments that normalise public consumption and weaken community standards." Jakes Singh, the former chairperson of the Chatsworth CPF, said various cannabis stores have opened near schools and religions institutions over the last two years. 'Not enough checks are done. While a few of the stores are operating legally, most are illegal. Tuck-shops are even selling cannabis. Stores are mushrooming everywhere. Raids are done, and regulators are visiting to check, but it is not done all the time. Too many loopholes are leading to the increase of cannabis stores,' said Singh. Colonel Booysie Zungu, the spokesperson for metro police, said the rapid increase of unlicenced cannabis stores and dispensaries within the municipal area was a serious concern. 'We are working together to identify and dismantle illegal cannabis operations, including unregistered dispensaries, storage facilities, and unlicenced retail stores. These establishments often operate outside the boundaries of national legislation, posing a threat to public health and safety. 'This is in line with our crime prevention mandate and the provisions of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act and Medicines and Related Substances Act. 'We are committed to enforcing municipal bylaws, disrupting illegal trade, and working to ensure that all cannabis-related businesses comply with applicable laws. We encourage the public to report suspicious activity through official channels." Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, the chief executive officer of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra), said cannabis dispensaries were mushrooming and blatantly displaying copies of Sahpra licences, which were issued authorising cannabis cultivation and exporting of the cannabis flower. "Such licences do not authorise these so-called cannabis dispensaries. This is a matter of concern," said Semete-Makokotlela in a statement. 'It is highly unethical and illegal for any individual or company to claim Sahpra authorisation through forged documentation. We take this matter seriously, and we will work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that offenders are dealt with swiftly and decisively. The public must be protected from such deceptive behaviour." Sahpra warned the public to be vigilant and cautious when engaging with service providers that claimed to be licenced by the authority. Semete-Makokotlela said Sahpra wasin the process of sourcing a system that used barcoding as a means of authenticating these certificates. If you suspect that a provider is using a fraudulent Sahpra licence, you can call the authority on 0800 204 307. THE POST
Daily Maverick
01-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Cannabis Expo shows how private sector is rolling in face of hazy government policy
The Cannabis Expo underlined the energy of private businesses that are forging ahead with investment, sales and job creation in the face of dazed and confused government policy that appears to have been crafted over a bong. Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall' blared from the DJ's stage and the sweet aroma of cannabis hung in the crisp autumn air at 10.50 on a Saturday morning. On its second of three days, the Cannabis Expo was in full swing at the Sandton Convention Centre, which bent its rules to allow for a 'smoking' section outside, which was mostly a toking section. Cannabis consumers are generally a laid-back bunch, but the expo underlined the energy of private businesses that are forging ahead with investment, sales and job creation in the face of dazed and confused government policy that appears to have been crafted over a bong. There were more than 100 exhibitors from South Africa and abroad, showcasing — and hawking — everything from edibles to rolling gadgets to water bongs to plant fertilisers. On the main stage, panels discussed subjects such as 'Women & Weed: Wellness, Empowerment and The Female Body', 'Potential Cannabis Commercialisation Benefits', and 'How to Choose The Right Cannabis Product for You'. The times they are a'changin', and tellingly, Farmer's Weekly had a stand. Cannabis is, after all, grown, and if the government could grasp this low-hanging fruit, the agricultural sector could reap a bountiful harvest. But the surging commercial sector for cannabis products is unfolding beneath a haze of legal and regulatory uncertainty. This genie was freed from the bottle by the landmark Constitutional Court decision in 2018 that, in effect, legalised the recreational use of cannabis — as an adult South African, it is your constitutional right to consume cannabis. In May 2024, the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act gave the green light for adults to consume, cultivate and possess cannabis for private use — but it leaves the cannabis commercialisation on display in Sandton this past weekend in the dark. One factor that undermines efforts to get a clear and straightforward policy is the lack of a single industry body to represent commercial cannabis interests. 'The industry itself is not represented. There is not a single industry body that represents every facet of the cannabis industry. This makes it virtually impossible to make representation on behalf of the industry,' advocate Simi Pillay-van Graan, the CEO of Trikar Enterprise Solutions, told Daily Maverick on the sidelines of the expo. That is a clarion call for a Cannabis Council to take up the cudgels. What this means Billions of rands in investment and tax revenue are going up in smoke because of government — read ANC — inertia on what should be a straightforward policy. If you are an adult who consumes cannabis and buys from one of the many retail outlets that are springing up all over the show, the vast majority of your purchases are technically illegal. Buying such products with your card also means that South Africa's banks are involved in illicit sales. Crafting policy to allow for the effective commercialisation of a sector that is already forging ahead is crucial. Brett Pollack, a lawyer who heads Harambe Solutions, told Daily Maverick that the industry was '… moving along ahead of government without the laws in place. So right now we are in a liminal space. We don't have a commercial framework, which is exactly what we need to build an economy out of this.' But an economy — one that is not yet subject to sin taxes for THC consumption — is indeed growing in the shade of perplexing policy. And things are rolling along, in some cases quite literally. At the stand for Pretoria-based Aaptwak Foundation & Club — basically, a cannabis club — Walter Pretorius displayed his skills in the fine art of speed rolling. The rules are simple: the paper can be pre-licked with a filter (if you choose) and everything prepared beforehand. It just has to be smokeable to qualify as complete. He was clearly a practised hand. On his rolling platform, this correspondent watched Pretorius three times over the course of the morning. His first go was a warm-up that took more than six seconds to complete — think of Usain Bolt warming up for the 100m dash. The third time I witnessed Pretorius in action (see video), it took him 3.52 seconds to roll a joint. If you blinked, you might have missed it. Walter also displayed an 80g monster joint that was longer than most of the trout this angling correspondent has caught in a lifetime of fishing. Presumably, that would have taken a little longer than 3.52 seconds to roll. By contrast, government policy on this front is moving at a snail's pace. It is another brick in a wall of what should be a window of transparency with the sunlight shining on a field of dreams. DM
Daily Maverick
22-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Loaded for Bear: It's a fiscal sin that Treasury has no sin tax on cannabis products
A cannabis sin tax could conceivably remove or reduce the perceived need to raise VAT by 0.5 percentage points. In the 2022/23 fiscal year, Canada's federal government collected more revenue from the sale of legal cannabis products than it did from beer and wine – a first since the legalisation of recreational pot for retail sales in 2018. As a Canadian, trust me, that is saying something. To wit, federal excise duties on cannabis products that year amounted to CA$894.6-million (R12-billion), slightly exceeding the CA$887.7-million raised from beer and wine sales. And that does not include the revenue that flowed to provincial governments from pot, beer and wine. In the same fiscal year in South Africa, National Treasury reaped R45.1-billion from alcohol taxes. Cannabis was – and remains – the missing link on the sin tax front in South Africa, and Treasury is missing out. 'Cannabis products are not yet part of excisable products, meaning they are not liable to health taxes (i.e. so-called sin taxes),' Treasury's media unit told me via email in response to my queries on the matter. 'The legislative framework for cannabis is still broadly limited to medicinal use or 'private use' and has not yet attained commercial status for possible application of excise duties.' As I recently noted in this column, pot policy in South Africa remains shrouded in a purple haze of uncertainty. This was thrown into sharp relief last month when Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi banned the sale of edible cannabis products and then did an abrupt U-turn. But the majority of pot products being sold openly in shops across the country – edible or smokeable – are technically illegal in the first place, which explains why they are not yet classified as 'excisable'. As a consumer of such products, I can attest to the fact that the shops that sell cannabis-infused goodies appear, for the most part, to be paying VAT, as you get a receipt and card machines are used. It's not a 'cash only, wink wink, nudge nudge' kind of business. Such transactions all go through banks, so South Africa's banking sector is also complicit in the illicit sale of cannabis. This genie was freed from the bong by the landmark Constitutional Court decision in 2018 that in effect legalised the recreational use of cannabis. In May 2024, the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act gave the green light for adults to consume, cultivate and possess cannabis for private use. So, the rough foundations are in place for Treasury – which clearly needs every rand it can lay its hands on – to impose health or sin taxes on cannabis products. How much could it raise? That's hard to say. But conceivably, it could remove or reduce the perceived need to raise VAT by 0.5 percentage points. I have not seen an official estimate on the number of bud shops in South Africa, but they have sprouted all over the place. While such outlets are still outnumbered by bottle stores, it is clearly a business sector in a growth phase and is generating revenue from sales that could be subjected to health taxes. I mean, it's just a no-brainer. That the ANC is unable to pluck this low-hanging fruit is testimony to its general inability to craft coherent policy. It has so many competing interests – not to mention cadres coveting a piece of the pie for themselves – that many of the 'policies' that emerge resemble a stoner's epiphany. So, we have ridiculous situations such as the health minister doing an about-turn on the sale of a product that was being sold illegally for the most part and that should be subject to a health tax but is not because the legislative framework has not been extended to a vibrant commercial sector. In a nutshell If cannabis was subjected to a sin tax, the government could ease the tax burden elsewhere such as on VAT. The owners of such shops and their customers are – trust me on this – clearly not complaining. Imagine if you ran a bottle store and your booze was suddenly exempt from six taxes. You would have a liquidity boost of note. But it is astonishing that this cash-strapped government has not worked this out yet. And, at least some cannabis consumers would not mind paying a bit more for their dagga if it meant they did not have to pay an extra 0.5 percentage points for almost everything else they purchased. DM
