GOOD party’s Brett Herron says minister Aaron Motsoaledi is ‘smoking his socks’ – and putting jobs at risk
The DA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to scrap health minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s surprise ban on cannabis-containing foodstuffs, saying it will stifle the hemp industry.
Hemp is a cultivar of cannabis that contains very low levels of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and is used in textiles, biofuels, food products and construction materials.
Ramaphosa, who has actively promoted the hemp industry, said in his state of the nation address in February that he wanted SA to be a leader in the commercial production of hemp and cannabis.
Motsoaledi published regulations to the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act on March 7 imposing a blanket ban on all cannabis-containing foodstuffs, including those with ingredients derived from hemp.
In an unusual turn of events, the regulations were published without first seeking public input and thus came into immediate effect.
They prohibit the sale, importation and manufacture of foodstuffs containing ingredients derived from cannabis, hemp, hemp seed oil or hemp seed flour.
A wide range of food products and beverages, ranging from “edibles” containing cannabidiol (CBD) to vegan protein bars containing hemp seeds are now banned. CBD does not create a “high”, and is often promoted as a means to ease anxiety, pain or insomnia.
No medicines containing THC or CBD have been registered by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra).
DA health spokesperson Michéle Clark said the global hempseed market, valued at more than $5bn in 2023, was expected to double by 2032, with the food and beverage sector driving much of the growth.
“Many countries, including the US, Canada and China, had integrated hemp into their food industries and SA should do the same,” she said.
Motsoaledi’s “ill-considered” move threatened over 1,400 licensed businesses and 400 small, medium and micro enterprises, she said.
The DA was concerned by the process that led to the ban, as the health minister had bypassed public consultation, she said.
“Instead of imposing restrictions, the government should support the hemp industry, which has the potential to boost jobs, improve public health and drive sustainable economic development,” she said.
The health department was not immediately available to comment.
GOOD party secretary-general Brett Herron said the health minister was “smoking his socks”.
“It borders on lunacy for the president to trumpet the future of an industry (hemp), only for one of his ministers to ban its products, which have been sold in mainstream stores for years,” he said in a statement.
Herron urged the president to overturn Motsoaledi’s ban and speed up work on the Cannabis Master Plan to ensure the sector was appropriately regulated.
“The lack of a policy framework to organise and regulate SA’s cannabis industry since the Constitutional Court decriminalised its use, but not its sale, seven years ago is placing the future of the burgeoning industry and up to a million people’s livelihoods at risk,” he said
“Users of edible cannabis products have the right to know that what they consume is safe, which requires regulations, not a ban,” he said.
Akos Bio, which promotes medical cannabis, said the regulations failed to distinguish between industrial hemp, cannabis for medical use, and unregulated cannabis foodstuffs, and consequently criminalised safe and legitimate sectors of the industry.
Akos Bio CEO Connor Davis said the sector needed a rational regulatory framework with input from Sahpra, the health department and the department of trade industry & competition.
There had been a “massive boom” in the sale of unregulated drinks and “edibles” since the 2018 Constitutional Court ruling, he said.
“People are branding products as CBD to sell THC. These are not being made in safe GMP (good manufacturing practice) compliant factories, they are being made in a garage,” he said.