Glossary
The words that decide your exposure.
Legal language is precise on purpose. These are the terms that come up in our consultations and in the documents members sign.
- Adult user
- A person of 18 or older using cannabis for their own private purposes. Read more
- Cannabis
- The plant Cannabis sativa and any part of it, including flower, resin and concentrates, unless a law excludes it. Read more
- Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 7 of 2024
- The Act assented to on 28 May 2024 that will regulate private adult use, possession and cultivation once it commences. Read more
- Cannabis club
- A private, members-only arrangement where adults pool resources to cultivate for their own use. Not a licence to sell. Read more
- Commencement by proclamation
- The step that brings an Act into operation. Until it happens, the Act's own rules do not apply. Read more
- CIPC
- Companies and Intellectual Property Commission — registers companies and close corporations. Read more
- Dealing
- Selling, supplying, buying for resale or distributing cannabis. The 2018 Prince judgment did not decriminalise dealing. Read more
- DALRRD
- Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development — administers the permit system for industrial hemp. Read more
- Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992
- The statute that still criminalises possession of, and dealing in, cannabis outside the private-use protections. Read more
- Fidelity Fund Certificate
- An annual certificate an attorney must hold to practise and to receive trust money. Read more
- Hemp
- Cannabis varieties grown for fibre, seed or industrial use under the agricultural permit system, distinct from medicinal cannabis. Read more
- Information Officer
- The person a business registers with the Information Regulator to handle POPIA duties. Read more
- Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014
- The statute governing attorneys, their admission, trust accounts and conduct. Read more
- LPC
- Legal Practice Council — the statutory body that regulates attorneys and advocates. Read more
- Master Plan
- The National Cannabis Master Plan is a departmental strategy, not a law, and creates no rights. Read more
- Medicinal cannabis
- Cannabis products used for medicinal purposes, regulated by SAHPRA under the Medicines Act. Read more
- POPIA
- Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 — governs how personal information, including health information, is handled. Read more
- Prince judgment
- Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development v Prince [2018] ZACC 30, which decriminalised private adult use, possession and cultivation. Read more
- Private place
- A place where an adult has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a home. A vehicle on a public road or a public space is not one. Read more
- Regulations
- Rules made under an Act that set practical limits. Draft regulations were published for comment on 3 February 2026 and are not in force. Read more
- SAHPRA
- South African Health Products Regulatory Authority — licenses medicinal cannabis under section 22C of the Medicines Act. Read more
- Search warrant
- A written authorisation from a judicial officer permitting a search. Ask to see it, and note its scope. Read more
- Section 22C licence
- The licence under the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 for cultivation, manufacture or export of medicinal cannabis. Read more
- THC
- Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound. Thresholds decide whether a crop is treated as hemp or as cannabis. Read more
- Trust account
- A separate account attorneys must keep for client money. Never pay legal fees into a personal account. Read more
General information, not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney–client relationship — that arises only when you engage an attorney. The law is in transition: confirm your position with an attorney before you act.
Review date pending. Legal status tracker