South Africa’s got cannabis licenses for sale everywhere as long as you don’t mind settling for a fake one. So get you chequebooks and credit cards ready for the green crush.
So much has happened since the Constitutional Court ruling last year and yet nothing has actually happened at all. While the nitty gritty of the T,H & C’s of cannabis decriminalization in South Africa are still to be determined by our self centric government, hundreds of cannabis dispensaries are sprouting across the nation. Maybe even thousands of them.
Wholesale sangomas
Some of these dispensaries will offer you protection under their traditional healers license. While other folk will offer to hook you up with a license of your very own. This has caused a tsunami of suddenly christened sangomas and shaman. People whom previously and currently give zero fucks about the plight of actual traditional healers.
Stories abound of people easily being separated from their cash when buying into very grey franchises. Some stories also include the back lash of these franchise owners being approved without any real background checks. It turns out that not every hippy or healer owner is sound of mind or anything more than just another dealer in franchise clothing.
Strange times at the CDCSA
The Cannabis Development Council of South Africa was a bastion of hope for all those seeking to grow every form of cannabis for every conceivable purpose. It promised cannabis licenses to anyone who was prepared to jump on board and do even more jumping over the many unknown hurdles to come. The founders claimed that their connections to the political elite are a good bet to get you that license that you so desperately crave for. Founded by SA’s longstanding only cannabis research license holder, the CDCSA remains an awkward beast.
Having been one of the original people to warn about it being unlikely that this council was anything more than another questionable move by the founder to bolster her own interests, I was ready to eat my own words when late last year I was very quietly shown an “actual license” that had just been issued to a high ranking member by The Department of Health . There were also assurances that over 60 other cannabis licenses had been issued to other members and that over a 100 more were in the pipeline. It was a very rare moment to feel so happy about having been so wrong.
The cannabis licenses hit the fan
Fast forward a couple months and things are no longer looking so irie. It turns out that the cannabis licenses aren’t as kosher as claimed. To date only a handful exist and may not be as official as once thought. Causing somewhat of a conflict within the CDCSA due to promised licenses having not yet being honoured. Leaving members to start questioning if this was just some sort of mandate ponzi scheme to only secure a handful of licenses to rule them all.
Uncomfortable questions have also been lingering about Intellectual Property. Applying for a cannabis license forced all applicants to show all their cards. Disclosing large volumes of private information and valuable Intellectual Property. Local IP that has taken decades to develop and has now been inadvertently gifted to the CDCSA.
Further fuel was thrown on the fire when the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority stated that there are in fact no licenses. And that “The cannabis-containing products and oils that are currently available in SA and which have not been registered or approved by Sahpra are therefore illegal. Suppliers and users of such illegal products are exposing themselves and others to legal and health risks as the safety, efficacy and quality of these products cannot be assured.”
House of Hemp has recently responded to these license concerns with a sorry not sorry statement. They claim that even though they are the founders and administrators of the applications. They are not to blame for the claw back that has now only left 4 license holders standing. HOH pointed fingers at poor admin and rogue elements within the CDCSA. While also calling a halt on all assistance or support for all remaining applicants until clearing the air privately.
Read the full HoH statement here
So as it stand there are 3 ways to get your fong kong cannabis license in SA:
- Become a traditional healer in what is a very grey area with regards to dealing weed.
- Join the CDCSA and hope for the best.
- Use some crayons and blank paper to draw some cute pictures and the words “cannabis license”. Then show that to the cops when they come knocking.
Note from the author: We’ve been swamped by queries for licenses. Of the more than thousand of these, not one has offered to assist legalization. While every single person that I have replied to has refused to donate a single cent to the cause. This is truly a disappointing reflection on both potential licenses and license holders.
what a process …
they clearly have the wrong people working on this so that people can get licensed
I see all the comments are from 2019. What is the status quo currently in regards to licensing?
Loved reading this, Thank You for all the information provided. You have answered a lot of my questions. I make my own edibles for myself, Usually i go to expos and hand out free samples just to see where the demand is. My dream is to ultimately open up a coffee shop with my own take a trip edibles with an inclusive stoner experience. This good read has brought me inspiration. Thank You and hopefully when i do start my restaurant / Cafe You’ll be able to give me a proper review, edibles on the house for you! whatcha say William Wallace?
Would be happy to review and link when you’re ready.
Am on The Hotbox Show most weeks. We regularly review local brands.
https://hotboxshow.co.za/
Well written William Wallace.
The CDCSA and HOH are just like any other government office then.
They have well run PR campaigns and spin doctors but no actual development or help towards their community.
Feel ya. Holding my breath to see the development vibes.
Isn’t it strange that the honourable and learned Dr Thandeka has actually landed the 1st hemp and cannabis cultivation license in RSA.
Yip. Amidst lots of rumours about her resigning from CDCSA to now only focus on her license.
Licenses IMHO is just another way for government to tax us. I don’t see the need for licenses, once legalized the industry ought to be self-regulated, I can only imagine excise duties, VAT, company and personal tax will motivate many small operators to stay in the black market, dodging SAPS, while the government will probably be wanting to crack down on people they’re not making money from while trying whatever they can to milk this new Cash cow….
The fight should be focused on legalization and there after, or concurrently, free trade in so far as is practical to allow the budding industry to blossom, yes everyone needs to pay tax, but the industry should be self regulated and not controlled by state.
Well said.
What a raw and honest piece. Thanks for bringing facts to the world of so many hopeful growers and smokers alike.
I have had personal experience with leading members of house of hemp, the cdcsa and a host of other related parties and all I can say is,your short but honest article should be front page news, the explotation of uninformed, misguided, manipulated and otherwise innocent people for the gain and benefit of a select few is shameful. And the people of South Africa should be made aware of articles like this. This is all fact not fiction. A CDCSA card is as good as any you could print at home. Just be sure to register a company and backdate your tax. In the end.. Tax is all that will matter. Offer cannabis with other items,buy one coke for 600 rand and get a sack of weed free ;) 420 Cafe on Sandton drive in johannesburg has been doing this with no issues, Gifting cannabis is not illegal, have a big enough garden? Why not sublet and get your whole community to grow and cultivate for their own personal use. I hope your article will reach more people and bring more attention to the real fight. Freedom of choice.
Thank you William.
Can this be done on an online store? ”Offer cannabis with other items,buy one coke for 600 rand and get a sack of weed free”. is this legal? just curious.
Maybe licenses are a way for the government to defraud applicants.
I licence is just another way to steel our money
I think if you zoom out a bit and look and who needs to do what, we need to wait for Parliament to legislate so that there can be some sort of legal take off agreement come harvest time, and an adequate new application procedure that serves what functions they need to in the respective fields – medicinal, industrial, personal, the whole 9 yards needs to be accounted for in law before anything can really happen legally. Okes will still grow illegally but thats status quo, and let grow. The change into a legal commercial cannabis space is on the horizon and prepping for that will only land you in abundant harvests when the time is right. There are a couple of inaccuracies in this article like what information needed to be handed over – it was the land owners ID (which for some on its own is a sensitive submission), the GPS locations and parameters of the farms and proposed designated cannabis growing space and well as an indication on of you have a fens or not. Those that decided to show their cards did so unnecessarily but lets not forget that this application was done on existing Medicinal Research Licences application forms, how is this okay? Surely an industry as budding as this should have their own “application to grow” form.. That brings us back to waiting for Parliament to get into gear and drive this… And we as citizens can bolster this by putting on the right pressure in the right spaces. Lets get the ministers that preside over the impacted ministries around a Parliamentary table and chat, maybe remind them of their 19 month deadline, but be solution oriented in approach. you seem to have a lot to say about this so-called failed application line, maybe you’ve got a solution for Parltizzle and could make a submission. I’m not sure how many licence applications have cleared in 3 months that carry this heavy gravitas but I rate there is still some t’s to be crossed and i’s to be dotted before we can get super excited about commercial weed in SA, its good the have these conversations though. peace
Hahahaha hahahaha
Told you so
Is there any Marijuana Board Of South Africa for Cannabis Legalization
https://fieldsofgreenforall.org.za/