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Two tracks, one plant: where SA cannabis and hemp law stands in August 2026
If you are trying to work out what you can legally grow in South Africa right now, the answer turns on one number: the THC content of what you put in the ground.
Hemp and cannabis are the same plant, Cannabis sativa L., but the law now treats them as two separate commodities with two separate rulebooks. The line between them shifted at the end of last year. The Plant Improvement Act and its regulations came into force on 1 December 2025 (gazetted 21 November), and the THC ceiling for hemp rose from 0.2% to 2% in the leaves and flowering heads. That is a tenfold increase, and it pulls a far wider range of varieties under the hemp banner.
What that means in practice, mostly from Mayet and Associates' 2026 compliance guide: hemp at or under 2% THC can now be grown, imported and exported commercially under a hemp permit. Their guide puts the number of permits at in the order of 2,031 since hemp became a recognised agricultural crop in 2022.
Cannabis above 2% THC is a different story. Commercial trade stays closed unless you hold a SAHPRA medicinal licence under section 22C of the Medicines Act. A mid-2026 Grower IQ roundup counted only 83 of those.
Private use sits somewhere in between. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 7 of 2024 was signed on 28 May 2024 but is still not fully in force. Draft regulations published on 2 February 2026 propose 750g possession and up to five plants, with public comment closed on 5 March 2026. They are proposals, not law.
Grow clubs and social clubs stay in a grey zone. The Western Cape High Court declined to declare them lawful in The Haze Club matter, and an appeal was withdrawn, so that ruling stands as the leading authority.
The consolidating Cannabis Bill is only expected to reach Parliament around mid-2027. Until then the sector runs on this patchwork.
For a small grower the practical question is simple: know which track you are on before you plant.