South Africa regulates CBD trade

As in France and most European countries, CBD products are available in stores or online in South Africa, though their sale is neither entirely legal nor illegal. Simply put, there is no law that prohibits or authorizes it. The South African government has decided to formally authorize and regulate the sale of CBD.

A Regulated but Incomplete Industry

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, acting on the recommendations of health authorities (Sahpra), is behind this initiative. He amended the Medicines and Medicinal Substances Act to exclude products containing CBD levels below a certain threshold and intended for non-medical (wellness) use. As for medical cannabis products, whether containing CBD or THC, they continue to require a prescription. CBD has also been removed from the list of controlled substances.

Several details in this amendment were surprising. First, it is valid for only 12 months. Second, it authorizes products containing «a maximum daily dose of 20 milligrams of CBD.» Nathan Emery, COO of Precision Cannabis Therapeutics Zimbabwe, explains to Marijuana Business Daily that he doesn’t really understand the purpose of this limit or how the government plans to enforce it: “There is no infrastructure specifically designated to manage the threshold set by the health minister’s proclamation. There is no testing mandate. Perhaps it will be up to business owners to enforce it, but it will also be complicated for the police.».

The problem isn’t limited to testing procedures; it also extends to production. Only three companies are currently licensed to grow cannabis in the country under the 2017 medical cannabis program. However, no company has applied for or been granted the right to produce cannabis-based medicines, not even simple extracts. Cannabis oils—and thus CBD oils—are produced on a small scale or imported, and so far, no retailer has ever been prosecuted for selling CBD. The status quo is therefore likely to continue.