South Africa Targets Mid-2027 Cannabis Bill to Formalise Trade

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) is working on a Cannabis Bill for introduction in Parliament by mid-2027, according to a Sunday Times report on September 25, 2026. The plan targets the gap buyers see every day: adults may use and grow in private, but nothing lets anyone sell.

Still no legal shop in 2026: what the delay means for buyers

Every “dispensary” and club operating today does so without a retail license, because none exists. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act of 2024 covers only personal use and, according to Mayet & Associates in mid-2026, still depended on regulations that were only in draft. A commercial bill is the only route to licensed shops, tested products and labels South Africans can trust.

Rural growers first

The government is seeking legal advisers to design pathways for traditional growing communities to join the formal value chain while protecting indigenous knowledge and genetic resources, the paper reported. It named Pondoland in the Eastern Cape as one such region.

The Department of Small Business Development is also involved, coordinating work on pathways for indigenous growers, the paper reported.

Barriers the department listed

• Permits and compliance requirements
• Land tenure documentation and security requirements
• Seed registration
• Finance and market access
• No recognition of traditional production systems and no suitable licensing model

Where the legal cannabis trade stands today

South Africa already has a legal cannabis industry, but it faces outward. SAHPRA licenses growers under section 22C of the Medicines Act to cultivate and manufacture for medical use, and Andy Gray counted more than 100 such cultivation licenses in December 2025, all barred from selling to the public. Hemp is licensed separately by the Department of Agriculture, with about 2,031 permits issued since 2022, according to Mayet & Associates.

Licensed producers export medical cannabis to regulated markets, including in Europe, according to Mayet & Associates. None of that supply is available to buyers at home.

How this fits the wider reform

Lawyers at Mayet & Associates also expect a consolidating Cannabis Bill in Parliament around mid-2027, according to their 2026 compliance guide. If that timetable holds, the bill would arrive roughly nine years after the Constitutional Court's 2018 ruling on private use.

The mid-2027 target and the steps before it

• The bill's text has not been published; expect a draft and public comment before it reaches Parliament.
• The private-use regulations still need to be finalized and approved by Parliament before the 2024 Act can start.
• The content of the bill, including whether it would license shops, clubs or both, is not yet known.
• Until a commercial law passes, shops selling cannabis remain illegal.