How red tape is tying up SA's cannabis growers

Legal expert Shaad Vayej, an associate in dispute resolution practice at law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, says that South Africa’s legal cannabis industry has the potential to thrive. However, high capital costs and legislative hurdles make it almost impossible for smaller-scale growers to take part in this industry to any meaningful extent.

- Shaad Vayej

South Africa is one of only four African countries that permit the cultivation of high-cannabinoid medical cannabis, either under licence for authorised sale or export, or unlicensed for private consumption.

Recently, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development [agriculture department] also published guidelines for hemp cultivation for agricultural and industrial purposes. In accordance with the National Cannabis Master Plan, South Africa is laying the groundwork for a flourishing cannabis economy in line with international trends.

Nonetheless, it is time to ask a couple of important questions. First, is this regulatory process taking place fast enough? And second, are the legislative mechanisms stifling domestic enterprise, reinforcing the flourishing illicit market and further disenfranchising local communities who stand to benefit the most from a thriving cannabis economy?

Understandably, the state needs to regulate the cultivation of high-cannabinoid medical cannabis destined for sale or export by providing stringent compliance criteria. In this case, the product has to satisfy Section 22C(1) (b) of the Medicines and Related Substances Act No. 101 of 1965 (the Medicines Act) issued by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). The rationale behind this, it would seem, is to protect the high quality and reputation of medical-grade raw material cultivated in South Africa and products manufactured here, as well as to ensure traceability to avoid fuelling the global market for illicit cannabis.

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