The debate around the use of cannabis-derived products has gained much traction since former health minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced in May last year that products containing the extract would fall entirely outside the scheduling system that controls drugs in South Africa.
More recently, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize signed a government notice that cannabidiol (CBD) products could be purchased without a prescription if the medicine “contains no more than 600mg CBD per sales pack, providing a maximum daily dose of 20mg of CBD and making a general health enhancement, health maintenance or relief of minor symptoms [low-risk]”.