How cannabis is regulated in South Africa
Four regimes, four departments, and the grower who fits none of them.
There is no single cannabis law in South Africa. There are four separate regimes, each with its own department.
A heritage landrace farmer qualifies under none of them. This page sets out each regime, what it admits, what it does not, and how the law arrived here.
Four ways cannabis is regulated, and the missing heritage farmer
Most of the confusion about cannabis in South Africa comes from one thing: there is no single cannabis law. There are four separate regimes, each with its own department, and a traditional grower qualifies under none of them.
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1 Private use
The Constitutional Court's 2018 Prince judgment made it lawful for an adult to grow and use cannabis in private. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act was signed in May 2024 but has not commenced. Draft regulations were published in February 2026.
What it does not do: permit any sale. There is no legal way to buy, and no commercial route for anyone growing.
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2 Medical
Governed by the Medicines Act and licensed by SAHPRA. Cultivation requires a section 22C licence and facilities built to GMP standards.
What it does not do: admit smallholders. The cost and the compliance burden put it out of reach of a one-hectare farmer.
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3 Hemp, or as we call it, industrial cannabis
Governed by the Plant Improvement Act. Since 1 December 2025 the THC ceiling has been 2%, up from 0.2%. The dtic reported 1,408 cultivation permits in September 2025.
What it does not do: include our landrace, which tests at 5 to 10% THC.
Why we say "industrial cannabis", not "hemp". "Hemp" is a category defined by a THC ceiling, an idea imported from Europe and North America. The UN conventions set no such limit: the 1961 Single Convention exempts cannabis grown for industrial purposes and says nothing about THC. Define the crop by what it is used for and any cannabis can be grown for industrial purposes, including the landrace already in the ground. Define it by a THC number and you exclude the growers you most need to include.
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4 Illicit
Cannabis remains listed in the Drugs Act. Everything outside the three lanes above is a criminal offence. Estimates presented to Parliament in March 2026 put this market at about R36bn.
What it does not do: go away. It is the market the other three have failed to replace.
Mpondoland's growers are excluded from all three legal lanes at once, which leaves them in the fourth. That is the problem our four asks solve.
Locked out of three lanes at once
Each regulated lane admits someone. None of them admits a heritage landrace farmer, so the fourth lane is where they stay.
How South African cannabis law got here
- 2017
Medicinal cannabis is legalised, under the Medicines Act and SAHPRA licensing.
- 18 September 2018
In Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development v Prince, the Constitutional Court decriminalises cultivation, possession and use by adults in private. Buying and selling stay unlawful, and Parliament is ordered to rewrite the law.
- May 2020
Government Notice 586 places cannabidiol in Schedule 4, with Schedule 0 exceptions for low-dose complementary medicines and for processed ingestible products at 0.0075% CBD or less.
- October 2021
Hemp is declared an agricultural product under the Plant Improvement Act, with a 0.2% THC ceiling.
- June 2023
The Cannabis and Hemp Phakisa Action Lab reports, committing to whole-plant regulation, the inclusion of legacy farmers and a commercialisation bill by June 2026.
- 28 May 2024
The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act is signed. It has still not commenced.
- September 2024
Responsibility for the National Cannabis Master Plan moves to the dtic.
- 1 December 2025
The new Plant Improvement Act comes into force. The hemp THC ceiling rises tenfold, from 0.2% to 2%, still well below landrace levels.
- February 2026
Draft regulations under the Act propose 750 g of dried cannabis and five plants per adult. Comment closed on 5 March 2026. Read our objection.
- Promised
Final regulations and commencement of the Act, a Hemp and Cannabis Commercialisation Policy, and a single Cannabis Bill, which government has told Parliament it aims to table by mid-2027.
Checked October 2026. This page explains the law as we understand it. It is information, not legal advice.
Keep reading
Questions and answers
Is dagga legal? Can I be fired for a positive test? Twenty-six plain answers.
Glossary
Hemp, landrace, hurd, GACP, FECO and the rest, defined in a line each.
The Master Plan
Where the sector plan stands, measured against government's own guide.