The Phakisa Back on the Table as President Lifts Cannabis Foodstuff Ban and Master Plan Goes Back to Square One

The President's brief statement lifting 'The Ban' emphasized the importance of stakeholder interaction going forward but left it up to the Health Minister to get the ball rolling. Cannabiz Africa understands that this will be handled by the DTIC and that a new round of stakeholder interaction is on the cards 'soon'. Essentially, the Cannabis Master Plan is being built from scratch again - seven years after the first round of public input on cannabis legislation.

Source close to the DTIC says it's unlikely any public engagement will happen before May 2025 as the Department is awaiting the appointment of a project manager for the Cannabis Master Plan, (applications for which closed on 26 March 2025). This individual is expected to drive the process forward using 'The Phakisa' document as a departure point.

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