South Africa is on a short but growing list of countries that have adopted national adult-use cannabis legalization measures. South Africa is joined by Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, and Germany, which all adopted recreational cannabis legalization measures before South Africa. The Czech Republic also recently adopted a national legalization measure.

The modern adult-use legalization law in South Africa actually started in late 2018 when the nation’s Constitutional Court deemed cannabis prohibition against private consumers to be unconstitutional. The landmark court decision was finally codified in 2024 by the nation’s lawmakers.

Policymakers and regulators are still working to properly set up South Africa’s recreational cannabis industry, and if advocates have their way, the nation’s legalization model will expressly include private cannabis clubs.

“A new initiative to unify private cannabis clubs to lobby for legal recognition has just been launched. The South African Cannabis Clubs Alliance (SACCA) says the time is critical for the private club movement to speak with one voice ahead of the anticipated release of draft regulations that will empower the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act.” reported Cannabiz Africa in its local reporting.

“SACCA’s launch does come at a time of mounting pressure on authorities to draft regulations to combat the growing cannabis retail ‘Grey Zone’, the omniglot of thousands of unlicensed businesses dealing in cannabis across the country. To date, conflicting court decisions have cast clubs into a legal ‘no man’s land’ where the best they can strive for in terms of compliance, is to be ‘technically’ not illegal.” the outlet also reported.

As part of its advocacy, the South African Cannabis Clubs Alliance has launched a website, stating on it that the organization seeks to “ensure that self-regulated Cannabis Clubs are formally recognised in future cannabis legislation, with compliance requirements embedded into law to promote safety, transparency, and legitimacy.”

“SACCA is committed to an inclusive, transparent drafting process, inviting participation from a broad spectrum of stakeholders — including cultivators, legal experts, health professionals, traditional healers, activists, and community members.” the organization also states on its website.

The South African Cannabis Clubs Alliance has created ‘foundational documents’ that it is encouraging members of South Africa’s emerging industry to weigh in on, and the drafting phase for the documents will remain open until February 2026.

“In March 2026, the finalized SACCA documents will be formally submitted to all relevant government departments as part of the push for recognition and regulation of Private Cannabis Clubs in South Africa.” states SACCA on its website.