South Africa to roll out cannabis regulation by 2023 at the latest

It will take South Africa no more than 5 years to implement its cannabis legalization. While The country's Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the ban on personal cannabis use was unconstitutional, and required the country to legalize cannabis; according to the [source], the regulatory framework should be in place by 2023 at the latest. National Cannabis Master Plan recently published online.

The goal of this plan is to provide a general framework for regulating the cannabis industry in South Africa «to contribute to economic development, job creation, rural development, and poverty reduction.».

According to the master plan, the government plans to:

• Amend existing legislation by removing the current restrictions that hinder the commercialization of cannabis
• Establish programs to select new dagga and hemp cultivars
• Support research and development programs for the country's cannabis industry
• Engage and support farmers in participating in the cannabis value chain
• Developing new domestic and export markets for South Africa’s cannabis industry
• Include local dagga producers in the value chain
• To foster and support the growth and development of the South African cannabis industry’s manufacturing and product development capabilities
• To provide a framework on education and training issues to support the cannabis industry

While highlighting the promise of the cannabis industry, the draft master plan also warns of the potential dangers of concentration in this sector, which is estimated to be worth approximately 28 billion rand (1.6 billion euros) in South Africa, as is currently the case in the Lesotho, which has authorized the cultivation of medical cannabis in 2017, and whose licensing costs mean they are overwhelmingly reserved for foreign companies.

South Africa has unveiled its plan to legalize it last year. In addition to regulating the cannabis market, it authorizes personal use of cannabis within the following limits:

• public possession of 100 grams of cannabis flowers
• possession at home of 600 grams of dried cannabis flowers, or 1.2 kilograms per household of two or more adults
• growing 4 flowering plants (8 for households with two or more adults)
• unlimited possession of seeds and cuttings