Loaded for Bear: SA’s cannabis policy remains shrouded in a purple haze of cadre confusion

1 Apr 2025

The cannabis edibles debacle underscores the levels of uncertainty around pot policy in SA. A product that in the majority of cases was being sold illegally in the first place was suddenly treated as if it was indeed and suddenly illegal because of a specific directive.

The abrupt U-turn by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on the sale of edible cannabis products - banning their sale out of the blue and days later lifting the ban - should come as no surprise.

When it comes to policy, it’s just the way the ANC rolls.

Since the landmark Constitutional Court decision in 2018 that in effect legalised the recreational use of cannabis, government policy on what should surely be a straightforward matter has been enveloped in a purple haze.

In May 2024, the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act gave the green light for adults to consume, cultivate and possess cannabis for private use. Edibles were not mentioned, but if you grow cannabis you can presumably eat it instead of smoking it if you wish.

Read more: Cannabis sector on a high as new weed law finally enacted

But the sale of any kind of cannabis product with THC - the ingredient that gets you “stoned” - is for the most part still illegal.

That has not stopped the private sector from rushing in - where there is the sweet aroma of pot, there is profit.

Like mushrooms after a rain, bud shops have sprouted all over the show, openly selling bud by the gram and cannabis-infused edibles.

This correspondent for a year or so went to one in the Joburg suburb of Linden for supplies, but there are now several options much closer to home. I even came across one in a mall in Bela Bela in Limpopo.

Their ubiquity should not be confused with legality. Any cannabis-related products for sale must be licensed by Saphra.

“Most of what is openly sold does not comply with any of this and, so, is technically illegal,” Paul-Michael Keichel, an attorney and cannabis law specialist at Cullinan & Associates, recently told my colleague Rebecca Davis.

Read more: Confusion surrounds government’s sudden ban on cannabis

Uncertainty

But the sector is acting as if everything is above board.

When Motsoaledi announced the ban on cannabis edibles on 7 March in the Government Gazette - on food safety grounds - the shops that were openly selling such products pulled the goodies from the shelves.

This underscores the levels of uncertainty around pot policy in South Africa - a product that, in the majority of cases, was being sold illegally in the first place was suddenly treated as if it was indeed and suddenly illegal because of a specific directive.

The U-turn came after an outcry and the threat of legal challenges based on the glaring fact that proper public consultations had not taken place before the ban on the sale of an already mostly illegal product was imposed.

Read more: Government u-turn on cannabis products ban - seller and user fears allayed

Are you confused yet?

Of course, following a trail that was blazed in the face of the tobacco and booze bans during the initial hard lockdowns to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, bud shops kept selling edibles under the table during Motsoaledi’s brief stoppage.

I know this for a fact because I bought some from one of my local outlets who had their stash hidden from view and only sold it to regular customers whom they knew.

I have enough now to last me for a good while - a hedge against inflation against or another sudden U-turn in policy.

Cadre confusion

This is low-hanging fruit that can easily be regulated in a sensible manner - but the ANC, which remains the main show in the Government of National Unity, is simply incapable of crafting meaningful and transparent policy. Witness the nail-biting snafu around Budget 2025.

Let’s take the minister in charge of the edibles debacle - the hapless Motsoaledi.

Motsoaledi was previously Minister of Home Affairs, where he assumed the helm of a vital government ministry that was an utter wreck and left it in a complete shambles.

Motsoaledi is also leading the National Health Insurance (NHI) drive, which - while a noble goal - has been widely criticised as ill-conceived and unaffordable.

On cannabis policy specifically, a couple of other things come to mind.

One is that there is a socially conservative streak in the ANC which bared its fangs during the tobacco and alcohol bans under Covid.

Prohibition historically has racist and classist roots, so one would have thought that it might not hold much appeal for the ANC.

But remember the ANC’s Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and her ham-fisted attempts at booze and tobacco prohibition during the pandemic? One of the upshots, of course, was a surge in the sale of illicit tobacco products, which has more or less continued.

It’s also the case that a significant part of the ANC’s political base is socially conservative. The Zion Christian Church, for example, prohibits its members from alcohol consumption.

Another factor that comes to mind is the “cadre element”, which leads to “cadre confusion” on the policy front.

The cadres in the ANC appear to have not figured out how to enrich themselves from the legalisation of cannabis and one cannot help thinking - given the party’s track record - that this helps explain why it is twisting itself like a pretzel over policy.

Revealingly, it is the private sector - not the cadre’s forte - that has risen to the occasion to make money from the obvious public demand for cannabis products.

Then again, why are so many shops openly selling what is technically a product that should not - amid all the confusion - be retailed?

The police are clearly doing nothing about it, which is perhaps understandable given the shocking levels of far more serious crime that the force confronts.

But one also wonders if some backhanders are not behind this blind-eye approach. And where there is corruption in South Africa, there be cadres.

An obvious model is the one adopted in 2018 by my native Canada, where recreational cannabis is regulated, sold, and taxed like alcohol and tobacco.

Read more: Weed it and reap – lessons for SA from Canada’s cannabis legalisation

That is simple, straightforward and treats adults like adults while providing an additional revenue stream for Canada’s provincial governments. Oh, and jobs get created in the process.

Meanwhile, I am going to continue buying my illegal-legal cannabis for recreational purposes from the many retail outlets that I can choose from. It beats the old days when I bought pot from car guards or the guys hawking wooden carvings. DM

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