--- title: "South Africa’s Cannabis Law Leaves… | SA Social Clubs" description: "Draft rules set personal limits of five plants and 750 grams per adult." canonical: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out language: en robots: index, follow og_type: article type: research-article language_alternates: en: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out.md cs: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/cs/novinky/politika/jihoafrický-zákon-o-konopí-opomíjí-pěstitele-z-řad-khoiů-a-sanů.md de: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/de/nachrichten/politik/südafrikas-cannabisgesetz-lässt-khoi-und-san-anbauer-außen-vor.md es: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/es/noticias/politica/la-ley-del-cannabis-en-sudáfrica-deja-fuera-a-los-cultivadores-khoi-y-san.md fr: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/fr/actualites/politique/la-loi-sud-africaine-sur-le-cannabis-laisse-de-côté-les-cultivateurs-khoï-et-san.md hu: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/hu/hirek/szabalyozas/dél-afrika-kannabisztörvénye-kizárja-a-khoi-és-san-termesztőket.md it: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/it/notizie/politica/la-legge-sulla-cannabis-del-sudafrica-lascia-fuori-i-coltivatori-khoi-e-san.md nl: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/nl/nieuws/beleid/de-cannabiswet-van-zuid-afrika-laat-telers-uit-de-khoi-en-san-gemeenschappen-buiten-beschouwing.md pl: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/pl/aktualnosci/polityka/prawo-dotyczące-cannabis-w-południowej-afryce-pomija-hodowców-khoi-i-san.md pt: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/pt/noticias/politica/lei-da-canábis-da-áfrica-do-sul-deixa-de-fora-os-cultivadores-khoi-e-san.md ru: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/ru/новости/политика/закон-юар-о-каннабисе-оставляет-производителей-из-числа-кой-и-сан-вне-системы.md tr: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/tr/haberler/politika/güney-afrika-nın-kenevir-yasası-khoi-ve-san-yetiştiricilerini-dışarıda-bırakıyor.md zh: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/zh/资讯/政策/南非大麻法将科伊科伊人和桑人种植者排除在外.md ja: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/ja/ニュース/政策/南アフリカの大麻法-コイ族とサン族の栽培者を法の枠外に置く.md ar: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/ar/أخبار/سياسات/قانون-القنب-في-جنوب-أفريقيا-يستبعد-مزارعي-الخوي-والسان.md ko: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/ko/소식/정책/남아프리카공화국-대마초법-코이족과-산족-재배자는-배제.md pt-br: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/pt-br/noticias/politica/a-lei-sobre-cannabis-da-áfrica-do-sul-deixa-cultivadores-khoi-e-san-de-fora.md hi: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/hi/समाचार/नीति/दक्षिण-अफ्रीका-का-कैनाबिस-कानून-खोई-और-सैन-उत्पादकों-को-बाहर-छोड़ता-है.md content_hash: sha256:633a36b8b5c8ace20a591d7c12f534c30bbca16e0fffa4c9f59f21ee33f5edde generated: 2026-09-12 --- > **Machine-readable Markdown rendering.** This is a Markdown representation of a web page, > served for AI agents and crawlers as a token-efficient alternative to the full HTML. > Full interactive HTML version: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out > Canonical URL: https://southafrica-socialclubs.com/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out > Available languages: en, cs, de, es, fr, hu, it, nl, pl, pt, ru, tr, zh, ja, ar, ko, pt-br, hi > Change detection: `content_hash` is the SHA-256 of this document's Markdown body — everything > below this block, whitespace-trimmed, excluding the front-matter. 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[![South African government documents beside a map of Khoi and San historical cannabis cultivation regions](/images/uploads/bfc74b4b-5201-4fbe-899c-325b7a479374/news-hero-south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/bfc74b4b-5201-4fbe-899c-325b7a479374/news-hero-south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out-1920x1080.avif "View image full size") [Policy](/news/policy "Policy") 11 min read # South Africa’s Cannabis Law Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out ![Portrait of Rob Harley, South Africa Social Clubs news desk](/images/uploads/5f094d99-3443-4907-8555-2910851fd38a/rob-harley-1920x1920.jpg) By [Rob Harley](/user-profile?u=a65dddce-73db-40b5-8660-fe93612a7384 "View the author's member profile") Published August 21, 2026 in [Policy](/news/policy "Policy") Draft rules set personal limits of five plants and 750 grams per adult. ![Portrait of Rob Harley, South Africa Social Clubs news desk](/images/uploads/5f094d99-3443-4907-8555-2910851fd38a/rob-harley-1920x1920.jpg) By [Rob Harley](/user-profile?u=a65dddce-73db-40b5-8660-fe93612a7384 "View the author's member profile") Rob Harley has reported on cannabis law and the non-profit association movement across Europe for the past decade. He focuses on how regulation actually reaches the members who use cannabis social clubs — the paperwork, the limits, and the slow build of public trust. His work for South Africa Social Clubs aims to be accurate, sourced, and free of hype. [More articles by this author](/news/author/rob-harley "See all articles by this author") Published August 21, 2026 in [Policy](/news/policy "Policy") In this article 1. [The draft sets personal limits, not a grower framework](/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out#the-draft-sets-personal-limits-not-a-grower-framework "The draft sets personal limits, not a grower framework") 2. [A six-year path from the court ruling to draft regulations](/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out#a-six-year-path-from-the-court-ruling-to-draft-regulations "A six-year path from the court ruling to draft regulations") 3. [Commercial cultivation and traditional recognition remain outside the Act](/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out#commercial-cultivation-and-traditional-recognition-remain-outside-the-act "Commercial cultivation and traditional recognition remain outside the Act") 4. [Khoi and San history predates modern cannabis law](/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out#khoi-and-san-history-predates-modern-cannabis-law "Khoi and San history predates modern cannabis law") 5. [The recognition question has no date attached](/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out#the-recognition-question-has-no-date-attached "The recognition question has no date attached") 6. [What the gap means for South African readers](/news/policy/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out#what-the-gap-means-for-south-african-readers "What the gap means for South African readers") South Africa’s draft cannabis regulations set personal limits of 750 grams and five plants per adult, while leaving Khoi and San traditional growers without a recognised legal category. As [Seedtiva’s report on the law’s unresolved gap](https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out "Seedtiva’s report on the law’s unresolved gap") records, the draft addresses private possession and home cultivation but sends commercial and traditional-grower questions to other government departments. ## The draft sets personal limits, not a grower framework The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act was signed by South Africa’s president on 28 May 2024, but signing the law did not immediately provide a complete set of operating rules. The source report says the Act still required supporting regulations, leaving ordinary adults without a fully clear account of what the new private-use framework allowed. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development published draft regulations on 2 February 2026. Public comment closed on 5 March. For the first time, the draft supplied specific figures for private possession and home cultivation: up to **750 grams of cannabis** and **five plants per adult**, provided they are cultivated and kept in a private place. The figures at the centre of the draft 28 May 2024 Act signed into law 750 grams Personal possession limit in the draft Five plants Home-cultivation limit per adult Those limits are important, but they describe only one part of the policy picture. The source report says the draft was built around private adult use and home cultivation, while the more difficult questions about commercial growing, trade and traditional cultivation were left outside the Act’s scope. ## A six-year path from the court ruling to draft regulations The law’s unsettled edges are linked to the way it came into being. According to the source report, the Constitutional Court’s 2018 ruling required Parliament to address the criminalisation of private adult cannabis use and home cultivation. Parliament missed the original deadline, received extensions and ultimately produced the Act six years after the ruling. The sequence reported by Seedtiva is: Key milestones in South Africa’s private-use framework 1. 2018 Constitutional Court ruling The court found the criminalisation of private adult cannabis use and home cultivation unconstitutional and gave lawmakers a deadline to respond. 2. 28 May 2024 Act signed into law The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, formally Act No. 7 of 2024, was signed by the president. 3. 2 February 2026 Draft regulations published The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development released draft regulations containing proposed personal possession and cultivation limits. 4. 5 March 2026 Public comment closed The month-long public-comment period on the draft regulations ended. That history helps explain why the private-use side has moved further than the commercial and cultural questions. The Act was developed under judicial pressure to address a specific constitutional problem, rather than as a single comprehensive framework for every aspect of cannabis cultivation, commerce and traditional knowledge. ## Commercial cultivation and traditional recognition remain outside the Act The Department of Justice’s position, as reported by Seedtiva, is that commercial cultivation, buying, selling and recognition of traditional growers are outside the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act. Those matters are directed instead towards the Departments of Trade, Agriculture and Health, each with its own priorities, legislative vehicle and timeline. The division can be summarised as follows: What the draft regulations address and what they leave unresolved | Issue | Position in the draft | Next step identified by the source | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Private possession | Covered by a specific proposed limit | Up to 750 grams per adult in a private place | [South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out](https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out "South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out") | | Home cultivation | Covered by a specific proposed limit | Up to five plants per adult in a private place | [South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out](https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out "South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out") | | Commercial cultivation | Outside the Act’s scope | To be handled through other departments’ processes; no date is given | [South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out](https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out "South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out") | | Traditional growers | No recognised category in the draft | Recognition is left to other departments; no timetable is attached | [South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out](https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out "South Africa’s Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out") | This creates a clear imbalance in the framework described by the source. An individual adult with a private garden is given proposed numerical limits, while a community seeking recognition for longstanding cultivation, healing or plant knowledge is not given a corresponding legal category. The commercial side is also left waiting for a separate process rather than resolved by the private-use regulations. The central gap The draft gives measurable boundaries to private possession and home cultivation, but does not establish how commercial growers or traditional Khoi and San cultivators are to be recognised. ## Khoi and San history predates modern cannabis law The source report places the recognition question in a much longer history. Cannabis cultivation and trade routes through southern Africa stretch back centuries, with the plant arriving through East African and Indian Ocean trade well before European colonisation reshaped land use and law across the Cape. Cannabis is known locally as dagga. ### A history predating modern statutes [![Cape landscape beside an annotated map tracing historic cannabis trade routes into southern Africa](/images/uploads/fc913317-4fdb-45dc-84b7-6c0b157d5bdc/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out-cape-landscape-with-an-annotat-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/fc913317-4fdb-45dc-84b7-6c0b157d5bdc/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out-cape-landscape-with-an-annotat-1920x1080.avif "View image full size") The reported history of dagga in southern Africa reaches back centuries before modern statutory frameworks. Khoi and San communities are identified in the report as among the earliest documented users of the plant on the subcontinent. The source says cannabis was incorporated into daily and ceremonial life before modern legislation existed. That history does not, under the draft as described, translate into recognition as cultivators, healers or knowledge-holders. > A private-use framework is expanding while recognition for traditional cultivators remains deferred. > > The gap described in Seedtiva’s report The issue is therefore not simply whether an adult may keep plants in a private place. It is also whether the people with the deepest historical relationship to the plant are included in the policy architecture that follows. The supplied source does not report a recognised category for that role in the draft regulations. ## The recognition question has no date attached The public-comment period has ended, but the source material supplied for this article does not say that the draft regulations have been finalised. It also gives no date for the separate work on commercial cultivation, buying and selling, or recognition of traditional growers. That absence matters because the private-use rules and the broader policy questions are moving on separate clocks. ### What remains unclear [![South African government office desk displaying draft cannabis regulations and public-comment papers](/images/uploads/90985a5c-7fbd-404a-a47e-7e3d4d93422f/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out-south-african-government-offic-1920x1080.jpg)](/images/uploads/90985a5c-7fbd-404a-a47e-7e3d4d93422f/south-africa-s-cannabis-law-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out-south-african-government-offic-1920x1080.avif "View image full size") The draft regulations set personal limits, while the source gives no date for the separate recognition process. On the facts available, the unresolved questions include: - When, or through which final process, commercial cultivation will be addressed. - How buying and selling will be dealt with outside the private-use framework. - Whether Khoi and San traditional growers will receive a recognised legal category. - Whether traditional healers and plant knowledge-holders will be recognised in a later framework. - When the separate departmental work will produce rules that communities and growers can rely on. The source does not claim that these questions have been settled elsewhere. It says they have been handed to other departments, with no date attached. It is therefore not possible from the supplied facts to say when the gap will close or what form any later recognition might take. ## What the gap means for South African readers For readers of South Africa Social Clubs, the distinction between private use, commercial activity and traditional cultivation is important. The venues listed in this directory are **private clubs**, not public shops or dispensaries, and they are not open to walk-in customers. Access is a private matter decided by each club. Nothing in the supplied source says that the draft regulations create a right to enter a club, obtain access through a club or treat a private venue as a public retail outlet. Nor does being in a particular South African city or region create access to a private club. Visitors should not read the draft’s personal limits as a tourist-access rule or as evidence of a commercial channel. The source addresses the proposed boundaries for adults in private places and explicitly leaves commercial questions outside the Act’s scope. ### Questions the draft does not answer South Africa’s unresolved cannabis questions What personal limits do the draft regulations propose? The source reports a proposed limit of up to 750 grams of cannabis and five plants per adult, cultivated and kept in a private place. Does the draft recognise Khoi and San traditional growers? No recognised legal category for Khoi and San cultivators, healers or knowledge-holders is identified in the source’s account of the draft. Does the private-use Act settle commercial cultivation or buying and selling? No. The source says commercial cultivation, buying and selling are outside the Act’s scope and have been left to the Departments of Trade, Agriculture and Health. Does the draft make private cannabis clubs public or open to visitors? The supplied source does not establish that. Directory-listed clubs remain private venues, not public shops or dispensaries, and each club decides access for itself. The result is a framework with a defined private-use component and an undefined wider pathway. For Khoi and San growers, the historical record described by the source is clear, but the policy response remains incomplete. Until the outstanding departments set out their own processes, the question of recognition remains open. Key points - South Africa’s draft regulations propose limits of 750 grams and five plants per adult in a private place. - The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act does not, as described by the source, create a recognised category for Khoi and San traditional growers. - Commercial cultivation, buying and selling are left outside the Act and handed to other departments. - The supplied source gives no date for the separate work on commercial activity or traditional-grower recognition. - Private clubs listed by South Africa Social Clubs are not public shops or walk-in dispensaries, and access remains each club’s decision. South Africa’s private-use framework now has proposed numbers for individual adults, but it still has no reported answer for the communities whose relationship with dagga predates modern law. For Khoi and San growers, the central issue remains recognition, and the timetable for that recognition is still unclear. ## Sources 1. [South Africa, Zimbabwe strengthen bilateral ties (sanews.gov.za)](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/south-africa-zimbabwe-strengthen-bilateral-ties "Open source in a new tab: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/south-africa-zimbabwe-strengthen-bilateral-ties") 2. [SIU to probe Theewaterskloof Local Municipality (sanews.gov.za)](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/siu-probe-theewaterskloof-local-municipality "Open source in a new tab: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/siu-probe-theewaterskloof-local-municipality") 3. 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[PARK INVASION: Fever trees felled, fencing destroyed near iSimangaliso — 52 people arrested (dailymaverick.co.za)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-21-fever-trees-felled-fencing-destroyed-near-isimangaliso-52-people-arrested/ "Open source in a new tab: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-21-fever-trees-felled-fencing-destroyed-near-isimangaliso-52-people-arrested/") 6. [MADLANGA COMMISSION: Fadiel Adams’ explosive admission on the mystery Idac affidavit, implicating Andrea Johnson (dailymaverick.co.za)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-21-fadiel-adams-explosive-admission-on-the-mystery-idac-affidavit-implicating-andrea-johnson/ "Open source in a new tab: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-21-fadiel-adams-explosive-admission-on-the-mystery-idac-affidavit-implicating-andrea-johnson/") 7. [South Africa's Cannabis Law Still Leaves Khoi and San Growers Out (seedtiva.com)](https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out "Open source in a new tab: https://seedtiva.com/blogs/global-cannabis-news/south-africas-cannabis-law-still-leaves-khoi-and-san-growers-out") 8. [Sekhukhune Farmers Establish Hemp and Cannabis Forum to Drive Industry Growth and Job Creation (farmersmag.co.za)](https://farmersmag.co.za/2026/08/sekhukhune-farmers-establish-hemp-and-cannabis-forum-to-drive-industry-growth-and-job-creation/ "Open source in a new tab: https://farmersmag.co.za/2026/08/sekhukhune-farmers-establish-hemp-and-cannabis-forum-to-drive-industry-growth-and-job-creation/") 9. [CHARL BOTHA | When cannabis regulatory uncertainty becomes a criminal opportunity (businessday.co.za)](https://www.businessday.co.za/opinion/2026-08-13-charl-botha-when-cannabis-regulatory-uncertainty-becomes-a-criminal-opportunity/ "Open source in a new tab: https://www.businessday.co.za/opinion/2026-08-13-charl-botha-when-cannabis-regulatory-uncertainty-becomes-a-criminal-opportunity/") 10. [The grey zone just got expensive: How SAHPRA's crackdown is reshaping South Africa's cannabis market (southafricatoday.net)](https://southafricatoday.net/business/the-grey-zone-just-got-expensive-how-sahpras-crackdown-is-reshaping-south-africas-cannabis-market/ "Open source in a new tab: https://southafricatoday.net/business/the-grey-zone-just-got-expensive-how-sahpras-crackdown-is-reshaping-south-africas-cannabis-market/")