South Africa’s long-suffering cannabis operators have demanded that the government make good on its extensive plans for a regulated framework, as frustration with its lack of meaningful action reaches a boiling point.
As Business of Cannabis reported in April, the country’s National Cannabis Master Plan, in development for the best part of seven years, involving ten separate government departments across nine separate pillars, is on the verge of finalisation.
Yet, plans to transition its estimated R28 billion ‘grey’ cannabis economy into a formally regulated framework remain stuck in the realm of endless consultations, leaving licensed operators losing out on significant revenues to businesses flouting the few rules currently enforced.
Now, a legal strategist who presented before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition in March has written directly to four government Directors-General and two parliamentary committees, citing more than 60 submissions, policy proposals and technical recommendations submitted over two years, and warning that the growing gap between policy development and implementation is now producing measurable economic consequences.
The open letter, sent on 2 June 2026 by Charl Botha of H3 Legal Solutions, states in no uncertain terms: “South Africa has reached a point where implementation should now receive the same attention that has been devoted to consultation and policy development. The question increasingly being asked across the sector is when this body of work will begin translating into visible outcomes.”
It also highlights key issues facing businesses operating within SAHPRA-licensed environments, who are being refused ordinary banking and payment processing services, with financial institutions classifying cannabis-related activity as prohibited regardless of legal status.
“A modern cannabis framework must be assessed not only through legislation and policy,” Botha continued, “but also through the ability of lawful participants to access essential commercial infrastructure, including banking, payment systems, insurance and investment capital.”
Among the unactioned submissions cited is a 100-site pilot framework capable of generating real-world compliance, traceability and public health data at no cost to government, alongside two white papers, one on packaging, labelling and traceability, another on indigenous knowledge systems and traditional community participation, both circulated to relevant departments without formal response.
Constitutional litigation is now also underway. Botha notes that ongoing court challenges reflect ‘growing frustration with the pace of reform across multiple stakeholder groups’, as the sector begins pursuing through the courts what it has not been able to achieve through consultation.
The Hemp and Cannabis Commercialisation Policy remains pending Cabinet approval. The overarching Cannabis Bill is not expected before Parliament until mid-2027 at the earliest.
Nearly a decade after the Constitutional Court confirmed the right to private cannabis use, Botha’s letter puts the position plainly: “South Africa’s cannabis future cannot remain indefinitely suspended between constitutional recognition and regulatory implementation.”
