Invitation for Community Leaders to Attend our Workshop

Friday 27 February 2026
Online and in person – Venue in Johannesburg TBC

Please note that we have limited capacity for the in-person event. A maximum of 2 leaders from each organisation.

The event will be live-streamed.

Please fill in the application for leaders to participate HERE.

 Why This Project Exists

“A unique opportunity for community input on the way forward for the policing of Cannabis in South Africa.”

South Africa’s Cannabis laws have recently changed:

• The 2018 Constitutional Court ruling and the 2024 Cannabis for Private Purposes Act (not yet promulgated) legalised Private Cannabis use and cultivation. 
• Despite this, SAPS officers still lack clear, legally aligned Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), resulting in ongoing arbitrary enforcement, confusion, and more than 80,000 Cannabis-related arrests per year (2022 figures). 
• Cannabis-using communities continue to experience unlawful search, seizure, and arrest, and Fields of Green for ALL has been documenting these grievances since 2013. 

Community participation is therefore essential to ensure that future policing guidelines reflect constitutional rights, lived experience, and the realities on the ground.

 What the Project Aims to Do

This project—Policing Post-Prohibition Cannabis in South Africa—will:

• Co-develop National SAPS SOPs for Cannabis policing that are legally sound, practical, and consistent.
• Co-create Civil Society Guidelines that directly feed into those SOPs, ensuring that community voices shape police practice.
• Use a participatory, collaborative approach where researchers act as bridges between SAPS and Cannabis-using communities—two groups that rarely engage directly. 

This is the first attempt in South Africa to collaboratively develop official SAPS Standing Orders for Cannabis policing.

 Why Community Input is Essential

• Cannabis communities—including growers, users, activists, and people affected by past and ongoing criminalisation—are primary beneficiaries of better policing.
• Your insights help identify:
  • harmful or unlawful policing practices,
  • gaps in officer knowledge,
  • constitutional rights infringements,
  • community expectations for safe and fair policing.
• These guidelines will be used not only to shape SAPS practice but also to support advocacy, accountability, and future policy reform efforts. 

Fields of Green for ALL, as co-host and civil society collaborator, plays a key role in ensuring community-centred dialogue.

What the Event Will Do

The community workshop, hosted by Fields of Green for ALL, will:

• Gather experiential evidence from Cannabis users and community leaders about policing encounters.
• Identify priority issues to be incorporated into draft civil society guidelines.
• Discuss rights, responsibilities, and expectations in a new post-prohibition legal landscape.
• Ensure that the guidelines reflect a broad, diverse community perspective before they are submitted for integration into SAPS SOPs.

 What Community Leaders Stand to Gain

By participating, community leaders can help to:

• Shape national policing policy in a way that protects rights and reduces harm.
• Ensure that Cannabis policing is consistent, lawful, and respectful.
• Influence a Standing Order that will guide SAPS for years to come.
• Strengthen the relationship between communities, civil society, and SAPS.

This is a rare moment in South African drug policy where community input will directly affect national police procedures.