The health ministry's banning of cannabis and hemp-derived products took the country's burgeoning cannabis sector by surprise as it seemed that South Africa had progressed in its legalisation of the drug.

The sector has pointed to the legislature and accused it of being backwards and not aligning with the country's economic goals to grow the cannabis and hemp sector.

In a webinar by Cheeba Cannabis & Hemp TV, Ras Gareth Prince, a lawyer and chairperson of the Cannabis Development Council of South Africa said everything has to start with the legislature.

"We have a legislator that doesn't have any vision, any courage and the proposed bill does not speak at all to the issues that are of great concern to South Africans.

"We need to understand that it simply cannot be business as usual in relation to cannabis. Cannabis is not just simply another product that can be slotted into the economic system as it currently exists because the status quo is unjust, unequal, and one of the greatest lacks in the proposed bill," Prince added.

Tebogo Tlohopane, the chairperson of the Cannabis Trade Association Africa called the legislature overzealous and overreaching.

"We have an overzealous regulator right now that makes lives difficult for small businesses to thrive in the country. Imagine a world where youth unemployment is zero. That is possible. It may not seem that way, but it is highly possible. Small Business Enterprises (SMES) that (sell cannabis and hemp derived products) are among the biggest employers in the country," he said.

Talking to Trenton Birtch on Cheeba Cannabis & Hemp TV, Dr Anban Pillay, deputy general at the National Department of Health said the intention behind the ban was misunderstood.

"The intention is not to ban cannabis and hemp-derived products," he said. "It is to make sure that the content of these products is acceptable, safe and protected from children."

In the same vein, Penny Campbell, the director of Food Control at the National Department of Health said the change was due to the changes made by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).

"SAHPRA updated the medicine schedules, and it has always classified anything with CBD of less than 0.075mg as a schedule zero product if it's for ingestion and only if the department approves it under the Foodstuffs Act. When something is not medicine or a health product, it doesn't mean it becomes a food stuff. So that was the rationale behind the prohibition.

Attorney and chairperson of Openfarms, Shaad Vayej pointed out the discrepancies by listing the country's previous legislative position on cannabis and hemp-derived goods:

2019 CBD Exemption (Government Notice No. 42477) - The health minister temporarily exempted some CBD products from the Medicines and Related Substances Act, enabling them to be sold as long as they included no more than 20 mg of CBD per day dosage and negligible THC.
2020 Medicines Act Amendment (Government Notice No. 586, Gazette No. 43347): CBD was reclassified as a Schedule 4 substance, whereas industrial hemp derivatives, such as low-THC hemp seed oil, remained free from severe pharmaceutical regulations, allowing for limited usage in consumer food goods.
Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 7, 2024: While forbidding the sale of cannabis to adults for consideration, the Act specifically excluded cannabis seeds and seedlings from its definition. This exception allowed for the authorised commercial cultivation and sale of hemp seeds, which increased the possibilities for hemp-based food items

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