After years of campaigning, anti-cannabis prohibition and decriminalisation activists breathed a sigh of relief as the South African Constitutional Court legalised the use of marijuana over the past few years.

Yet, the Department of Health has backtracked on this progress and imposed a ban on the production and selling of cannabis and hemp-derived foodstuffs.

"This drastic measure contradicts prior regulatory frameworks and undermines South Africa's ambitions to lead in the cannabis and hemp industries," said attorney and chairman of Openfarms, Shaad Vayej.

He added that this decision places the country at odds with worldwide trends, which see governments increasingly adopting hemp-based food products for their economic and nutritional benefits.

To highlight the contrast, Vayej listed 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.

"The latest regulation contradicts these prior policies, disregarding the carefully considered distinctions between psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabis derivatives. This reversal now criminalises previously lawful activities, creating massive uncertainty regarding the future of the non-medical, industrial hemp industry in South Africa."

Vayej foresees an economic, agricultural, and consumer impact fallout from the ban. He cited the hundreds of hemp growing permits given to farmers by the Department of Agriculture, with the majority of these farmers producing hemp seeds for food, oil, and seed cake.

"Rather than a data-driven public health measure, this decision appears to be a knee-jerk regulatory overreach that disregards economic realities and undermines the cannabis industry’s development," he added.

Decriminalisation activist and expert Myrtle Clarke, was shocked at the news.

"We have no idea what precipitated all of this disastrous piece of potential legislation. It came out of the blue. I think everyone in the cannabis community is totally shocked. We know that the sale of THC is illegal, but to include hemp seeds and hemp flour and oil in this which is something we have had access to for a long time," she said.

Clarke accused the government of hypocrisy as she had been in meetings where the government had raved about the economic opportunities that cannabis can bring to the country.

"We have been side-swiped by this news ... To present a two-page document to the South African public out of the blue like that is certainly ripe for all sorts of shenanigans in court ... The lawyers are on alert."

IOL