# Eight years on, South Africa's cannabis rules stay unclear

> Parliament passed a law legalising personal cannabis use in 2018, but has never written the rules needed to make it work, leaving shops in legal limbo.
- Title: Eight years on, South Africa's cannabis rules stay unclear
- Summary: Parliament passed a law legalising personal cannabis use in 2018, but has never written the rules needed to make it work, leaving shops in legal limbo. South…
- Keywords: south africa, cannabis, parliament, regulation, cannabis for personal use act, labat africa, news, politics, Eight, years, South, Africa's
- Source: Daily Maverick — https://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-29-why-are-sas-cannabis-rules-still-up-in-smoke
- Author: Stephen Grootes
- Published: 2026-10-29T19:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: south africa, cannabis, parliament, regulation, cannabis for personal use act, labat africa, news, politics
## The court ruled eight years ago
In two thousand eighteen, a court legalised cannabis for personal use in South Africa. The ruling still stands today because Parliament has not finished the work needed to enforce it.
## Parliament passed a law but no rules
Parliament passed the Cannabis for Personal Use Act, but the act is not in operation because it still lacks regulations. Without them, the law cannot work.
## Cannabis shops operate in legal limbo
Hundreds of cannabis shops have opened across South Africa, but they are all breaking the law. Parliament has not even passed a law allowing the selling of cannabis yet.
## Police plan to raid the shops
The Gauteng SAPS are planning to raid many cannabis shops and close them down. The shops claim to be buying clubs or growing shelters, but these claims do not protect them legally.
## A listed company struggles without rules
Labat Africa, a company listed on the JSE, has bought several cannabis firms but has made no money. Its shares are suspended and Hollard Insurance won a provisional order to wind the company up.
## The missing possession limits
The Cannabis for Personal Consumption Act leaves the amount you can possess to regulations the minister has not yet written. Early suggestions were four dagga plants, far stricter than alcohol rules.
## Bring the informal sector in from the cold
South Africa has a thriving informal cannabis industry that should become regulated and formal. The current limbo is a hangover from when cannabis was criminalised, and it blocks economic opportunity.
## Key takeaway

South Africa has not finalised cannabis regulations eight years after a court ruling, leaving the industry in legal uncertainty and shops vulnerable to police raids.