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On 2 February 2026 the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development released an invitation for public comments on the Draft Cannabis Regulations (the Regulations) in respect of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 7 of 2024 (the CPPA). The Regulations address a range of matters not covered in detail by the CPPA, including limits on the maximum amounts of cannabis for possession in private or a public place, the maximum number of cannabis plants for cultivation in private, various requirements related to the transport of cannabis, and procedural matters related to the expungement of a criminal record in terms of the CPPA.
The most immediately relevant sections of the Regulations concern the possession, cultivation and transport of cannabis. Cannabis, as defined in the CPPA, means the flowering or fruiting tops of a cannabis plant and includes products made therefrom, but excludes seeds, seedlings, stalks, leaves and branches. The Regulations allow a maximum of 750g to be possessed by an adult person in a private place for private purposes, with the amount of cannabis that an adult person may possess in public for a private purpose being similarly limited to 750g per day. The maximum number of cannabis plants that an adult person may cultivate in a private place for private purpose has been set at five plants at any given time. A ‘private place', per the CPPA, is any place (including various types of listed dwellings) to which the public does not have access as of right, as well as portions of communal land exclusively used to cultivate cannabis. The definition of ‘private purposes' specifically requires the intention that the cannabis be concealed from public view.
The issue of public transportation of cannabis has evidently exercised the drafters of the Regulations, and the requirements for such transport have been provided in detail. Without reciting these details wholesale, we note that transportation of cannabis has also been set at a limit of 750g per day per person, including cannabis that has not yet been removed from the plant. Transported cannabis must be concealed from public view during both transport and loading/unloading, and must preferably be placed in a separate compartment of the vehicle (e.g. the boot) away from the public eye or the possibility of handling during transport. Where this is not possible, then a storage container may be used so long as it conceals the cannabis from view – a measure which may finally spell the death knell of the small, clear zip-lock plastic baggie industry.
Cannabis should be transported unmolested, not to be handled, held, examined or inspected by any party during transport. Nobody involved in the transportation (including other passengers on the same vehicle) may reveal to others not on the vehicle that it is transporting cannabis. At the same time, the Regulations require both driver and passengers to notify each other that cannabis is being transported before anyone is allowed to board, with the driver being allowed to refuse entry where the passenger refuses the inspection of the cannabis they are carrying. “Vehicles” in terms of the CPPA, are vehicles as defined in the National Road Traffic Act.
Curiously, the Regulations specify that transported cannabis (as opposed to cannabis held at a private place) may not be mixed with any other substance. Additionally, when transporting cannabis only ‘the variety or strain of cannabis permissible by any applicable law in the Republic' may be transported. Since references to varieties or strains are lacking from the CPPA, this presumably anticipates the existence of other legislation which may regulate what varieties or strains will be permissible for cultivation.
Turning to expungement, Sections 5(1)(a) and 5(2)(a) of the CPPA requires that criminal records related to a variety of cannabis-associated convictions must be automatically expunged. Where this has not occurred, then a person in possession of such a criminal record can apply in writing to the Director-General to effect the expungement. The Regulations give effect to this process by providing a suitable form to complete and physically deliver, as well as the procedures and timelines for the application to be processed.
In general, the Regulations provide welcome clarity to persons who intend to grow and use cannabis for private purposes, with the Regulations related to transport being amenable to change should the requirements prove unwieldy. Some further clarification is needed, however, as to whether the weights specified refer to harvested or dried weight.
All interested parties are invited to submit written comments to the draft Regulations by 5 March 2026.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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