A stern warning has been issued by members of SAPS to remind the public that dispensaries, outlets, online sites and social media platforms which are marketing and selling cannabis and cannabis-related products remains illegal. The practice is illegal except when it is allowed in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
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Police spokesperson, Brig Jay Naicker said, “Some of these illegal businesses, purporting to be operating legally in terms of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act (No. 22 of 2007), are also being sold to members of the public as franchises authorised to deal in cannabis and cannabis-related products. In terms of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act, the definition of ‘traditional medicine’ means an object or substance used in traditional health practice for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of a physical or mental illness or any curative or therapeutic purpose, including the maintenance or restoration of physical or mental health or well-being in human beings but does not include a dependence-producing or dangerous substance or drug. As a result, the Traditional Health Practitioners Act does not create a mechanism to sell cannabis and cannabis-related products that are not exempted in terms of the Medicines Act.”
Any person who imports or manufactures a CBD-containing medicine in accordance with the exclusion notice must still be in possession of a licence issued in terms of section 22C(1)(b) of the Medicines Act and comply with any relevant standards.
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The South African Police Service is mandated to act, not only against businesses that sell cannabis illegally, but also against the customers who buy these products.
Members of the public are encouraged to download the MySAPSApp to have easy access to the police to, among others, provide tip-offs or to report any information relating to the sale of cannabis to the SAPS through the SAPS Crime Stop number 086 00 10111. Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
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