SAPS
Five suspects are expected to appear in the Alberton Magistrates Court in Gauteng on Wednesday on charges of contravening the Medicines and Related Substances Act, the Drug Trafficking Act and for illegally manufacturing and dealing in drugs.
This, after the Hawks pounced on a house that was operating as a production facility for making medicinal oils from dagga.
Police spokesperson, Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu, said police received information about a large consignment of dagga en route for delivery at a house in Alberton and kept surveillance on the property.
The five suspects, between the ages of 30 and 58, were arrested and police seized cannabis oil and extraction equipment worth R5 million.
SAPS have issued a stern warning that the establishment of illegal dispensaries/outlets, online sites and social media platforms that are marketing and selling cannabis and cannabis-related products to the public remains illegal, except where specifically allowed in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
Cannabis (the whole plant or parts or products thereof) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (the psychoactive substance that gives one a "high") are currently listed as Schedule 7 substances in terms of the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act 101 of 1965) (the Medicines Act), except when present in processed hemp fibre and products containing not more than 0,1 % of THC in a form not suitable for ingestion, smoking or inhaling purposes; or when present in processed products made from cannabis seed containing not more than 0,001 % of THC; or when used for medicinal purposes.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is listed as a Schedule 4 substance. Certain CBD-containing preparations have been excluded from the operation of the Schedules by the Minister of Health for a time-limited period, as per an exclusion notice (R.756) published in Government Gazette No. 42477 on 23 May 2019.
CBD-containing preparations for medicinal use are excluded when they contain a maximum daily dose of 20 mg of CBD with an accepted low-risk claim or health claims, without referring to any specific disease.
CBD-containing processed products are also excluded when the naturally occurring quantity of CBD and THC contained in the product does not exceed 0, 0075 % and 0,001 %, of CBD and THC respectively.
Any CBD-containing products that are outside the parameters of the exclusion notice are subject to the provisions of the Schedules and registration as a medicine.
Any person who imports or manufactures a CBD-containing medicine in accordance with the exclusion notice must still be in possession of a license issued in terms of section 22C(1)(b) of the Medicines Act and comply with any relevant standards, including current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards. Such persons must be able to present verified assessments by an accredited laboratory of the CBD and/or THC content of any product or medicine when requested.
The South African Police Service is mandated to and will act, not only against businesses that sell cannabis illegally but also against the customers who buy these products.
