This post was created by a human with the assistance of AI tools. It combines comments shared during the webinar with the official transcript. Please note that some addresses may need adjustment, as we’ve kept the text raw to preserve authenticity. If a link doesn’t work, it may have been copied directly or merged from two lines. Transcript is also included as a comment at the bottom for reference.
South Africa cannabis industry woke up and realizes time is flying fast.
The “Pathways to Legality” webinar on November 11, 2025, marked the launch of a national conversation series on Project Indlela, a community driven push to build an inclusive cannabis framework.
It was hosted by Cannabiz Africa and the South African Cannabis Club Alliance (SACCA), the event featured Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana from the Presidency and drew over 130 stakeholders, including legacy growers, club operators, educators, and tech innovators.
Discussions revealed government openness to reform while highlighting industry frustrations over delays, exclusion, and the unregulated grey market.
Attendees expressed a mix of optimism for collaboration and urgency for concrete action, emphasizing that words must turn into timelines and equitable policies.
South Africa cannabis industry Signals Progress Amid Historical Barriers
Deputy Minister Kekana traced cannabis debates back to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, calling it outdated and a hindrance to economic growth.
She reaffirmed the 2009 outcomes based approach to transform lives through inclusion, investment, and job creation.
The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act (2024), stemming from the 2018 Prince judgment, enables removal of cannabis from the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992, paving the way for industrialization.
Draft regulations are in final review at the Department of Justice. Cabinet’s 2019 decision led to the National Cannabis Master Plan, now under review for better hemp integration and infant industry support.
Minister Pakau heads implementation, focusing on mentorship and pilots to onboard legacy farmers. Three urgent streams were outlined: regulatory reform, quick wins under existing laws, and a full plan.
Kekana stressed value addition in manufacturing for local/export markets, rural development, and prioritizing Indigenous communities and SMMEs in supply chains.
Attendees welcomed this alignment but pushed for faster execution, noting the plan’s unsigned status due to gaps in social partner buy in.
Industry Demands De scheduling and Moratoriums
Stakeholders highlighted the grey market’s scale estimated at thousands of outlets and pop ups creating jobs but excluding Indigenous groups historically criminalized under apartheid era laws.
Calls were strong to de schedule cannabis entirely, treating it as an agricultural commodity rather than a Schedule 6 substance under the Medicines Act.
This would unlock a new Cannabis Regulations and Economic Inclusions Bill, allowing coexistence of non commercial clubs, dispensaries, and marginalized growers. A moratorium on unnecessary arrests topped demands, especially for traditional users.
The industry is organized with club systems, taka Spaza shops, and farmers ready for CSIR tested safe practices ahead of 2026/2027 commercialization.
Proposals included a national summit on April 20, 2026, for cross department collaboration (SAPS, DTIC) and raising THC limits beyond 2% to avoid criminalizing law abiders.
Frustration surfaced over persistent arrests despite 2023 SAPS directives and SAHRC statements upholding privacy rights and collective ownership in ethical clubs.
Project Indlela’s Hub Model: Inclusion vs. Exclusion Debate
SACCA, founded in August 2025, presented Project Indlela (“the way forward”) as regional processing hubs municipally backed but low funding connecting rural growers to compliant distribution.
Growers supply hubs for verification, testing, packaging, and offtake contracts; products flow to clubs or dispensaries with quotas for landrace strains.
Editor note (This is where I picture the people on the ground the Snyman people, all walks of life people can bring their product and get it tested and sell it off so it can be graded and passed on to the consumer). It sounds like they want to be able to sell it straight without the hub as the middleman, and honestly I can see a future like that if they make it like the small scale alcohol permits, someone comes and checks if you would be doing it in a proper and nice manner, then like a micro alcohol brewery they pay a small fee to join and they sell it above board with good health and safest standards just like alcohol? I can see a way that’s the way forward but only if we let the people know, and trust me they know they are in the meetings)
Clubs act as non profit harm reduction and education centres, enabling private access via pooled resources (no profits, reinvest in community).
Tech demos included Joint Venture Collective’s Lipia software (grower/processor/club modules live; hub prototype in development) for seed to sale traceability, QR codes, and auto-reports.
Grow one Africa‘s GAO Light platform serves 16 clubs with 6,000+ members, using AI for consumption forecasting in a closed loop economy; AfriMeter expands to shared data dashboards.
The debate intensified on equity: some saw hubs as legal entry for Indigenous growers, rectifying value chain disruptions.
Others criticized it as exclusionary, keeping original San people and Snyman beyond cultivation, echoing apartheid separations. Concerns arose over NPC models’ sustainability (no bank loans) versus Pty for economic growth, and accessibility of software/training costs.
Unity calls urged federations like SACHIDA to bridge silos, with all uses traditional, medical, recreational, industrial needing protection without commercial domination.
Legal Complexities and Path Forward
John Jeffery (ex DTIC, now consulting) clarified delays: regulations define amounts for enforceability (NPA/police request), expected early 2026 with parliamentary approval.
Cannabis is limited to flowering tops; seeds/stems excluded. Hemp caps at 2% THC under the new Plant Improvement Act (December 1, 2025); higher THC becomes a declarable crop via Agriculture permits.
A three prong strategy: activate Private Purposes and Plant Improvement Acts; short term amendments (e.g., Small Business Act for licensing); omnibus bill for a regulatory authority.
Section 21/22 dispensaries drew scrutiny 95% serve recreational users via fraud, dumping rejects on streets; no domestic medical production exists, exports only.
Jeffery agreed outlets are largely illegal but cautioned against mass enforcement, pushing consultation.
Stakeholder groupings (hemp, cannabis, traditional) will hold virtual briefings for input.
Attendees felt the gray zone’s reality is finally acknowledged, but political will lags nine departments cause communication breakdowns.
UN treaties are monitorable but not enforceable; Constitution prevails, with no penalties for decriminalizing nations.
Education and Economic Urgency
Cheeba Academy launched Africa’s first higher certificate in cannabis (CHE accredited), with Jobs Boost training 90 youth.
Mulu Hemp counters with Agri SETA Level 4 since 2020 (isiZulu curriculum).( if someone has a link for this company please comment below so I can add it here)
Basic grower courses were proposed pre licensing.
High training costs alarmed participants, especially with no active market; foreign investors flood in while locals face loan burdens post certification. Recreational cannabis could generate tens of thousands of jobs in farming, retail, and logistics critical for unemployment.
Enforcement Realities: Moratoriums, Precedents, and the Upington Shadow
John Jeffery, formerly with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and now consulting on cannabis matters, drew a sharp parallel to decriminalized sex work: arrests for buying or selling have ground to a halt, while human trafficking remains prosecuted.
He argued that pursuing Rastafari or small scale users for minor infringements like personal consumption or R300 sales serves no purpose and inflicts needless harm. Large scale sales and transport stay illegal, but Jeffery revealed he’s lobbied the Minister of Police for a moratorium on petty cannabis arrests, urging sustained campaigns to align government views.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) resists, insisting they can’t be barred from enforcement, and lacks drug specific offense stats highlighting data gaps that frustrate reformers. The Upington case loomed large, with Jeffery expressing interest in details. Just weeks prior, on September 15, 2025, the Upington District Court convicted Lucia Louw, 44, and Raynard Jacobs, 23, for dealing after an SAPS sting, ordering forfeiture of Louw’s home for R300 in cannabis sales.
dfa.co.za Participants decried this as unequal enforcement pop ups thrive unchecked while legacy sellers face asset loss fuelling calls for immediate relief. One attendee warned of holiday season raids devastating families in an already active industry, pressing DTIC to accelerate or face backlash. The room buzzed with frustration: “We’ve heard promises before; deadlines, not words, will build trust.”
Inclusion Imperative: From Exclusion to All Voices at the Table
Albertus van Jaarsveldt of SACCA doubled down on the platform’s openness, inviting critiques to refine their living policy document a collaborative blueprint targeting March 2026 submission.
He flagged a critical gap: traditional and Indigenous perspectives on commercial versus non commercial models. Inviting reps from Rastafari, Na’Juda, and Khoisan communities, he stressed Project Indlela’s hubs must adapt to their realities, not impose top down fixes.
Mmakgoshi Morema invoked history, noting cannabis exclusion since 1964 and 1976 laws, and proposed a “hocas model” for ” Spaza shops” to localize economies and include healers, Rastafarians, and minorities.
Zaino Simmers, as Blue Downs paramount chief and Khoikhoi leader, positioned his Kakqua and Khoikhoi communities along the N2, ready with co ops for seed to harvest partnerships, grow services, and stores prioritizing rural upliftment.
Madoda Biyana raised sacramental transport risks small grow spaces force hauls that trigger arrests prompting van Jaarsveldt’s hub solution: authorized, grower free logistics under regulatory proposals.
Sentiments ran deep here: relief at overtures to traditional leaders, but scepticism over “tone deaf” oversights. One voice captured the weariness: “This plant is our crop, stolen since apartheid models must thrive local economies, not side-line the originals.” Calls for unity echoed.
Practical Hurdles: Transport, Data, and Open Channels
Transportation emerged as formalization’s biggest blocker, with hubs positioned as secure conduits contracted hauls bypassing personal risks.
Jeffery shared his WhatsApp and email in chat for direct issue-reporting (avoid calls), a move hailed as refreshingly accessible.
Brett Hilton Barber positioned Cannabiz Africa as an industry government bridge, while van Jaarsveldt touted SACCA’s forums alongside the Marijuana Board of South Africa and National Cannabis Dialogue for input.
Tshidiso Setshogwe of the Marijuana Board underscored economic urgency: the poor can’t wait for regulations when the industry hums illegally.
Participants felt empowered by this. “Finally, a seat where our ground truths matter” but pressed for POPI compliant data ethics in research, worried of bots and privacy breaches in open forums.
The Broader Horizon: Facts Fuelling Momentum
This overtime unearthed actionable facts moratorium lobbying underway, Upington as a flashpoint for reform, and structured stakeholder briefings (hemp, traditional, cannabis sectors) for virtual input.
The Plant Improvement Act activates December 1 2025 capping hemp at 2% THC higher strains get crop status via Agriculture permits.
An omnibus bill looms for a regulatory body, with short-term tweaks like Small Business Act amendments for licensing.
The emotional undercurrent?
A community galvanized yet guarded optimistic about consultative DTIC shifts, but insistent on speed: “History judges slow signers harshly; include us now, or arrests will.”
As Project Indlela rolls into its series, these voices demand DE scheduling, funded IKS sandboxes, and quotas that deliver real shares.
Cannabis isn’t just policy it’s prosperity for the marginalized, if pathways lead to equity.
For the full transcript and policy drafts, visit SACCA’s open forum.
The dialogue continues; let’s ensure it’s not just talk.
https://www.sacca.org.za/forum – we encourage input and to engage in discussions.
Thank you Brett United We Stand
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