From corner stores to high-end members-only lounges, Cape Town’s cannabis scene has flourished over the last five years. With evolving legislation and shifting public attitudes, both locals and visitors have embraced a growing culture of cannabis consumption in the Mother City.
What was once sold furtively under the counter or on a street corner has gone thoroughly mainstream, with elegant members' lounges offering upmarket destinations for lighting up. Across the Mother City, buying marijuana in Cape Town is now possible (if not strictly legal) at dozens of outlets, with retailers offering everything from flower and edibles to concentrates and pre-rolls.
Much of this transformation stems from a pivotal 2018 Constitutional Court ruling that decriminalised private cannabis use. That legal shift laid the groundwork for the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, gazetted in 2024. However, while the Act outlines a legal framework for private use and cultivation, it has yet to be fully operationalised. In practice, there is still a lack of clarity around key aspects such as possession limits, transport allowances, and enforcement.
For now, the law permits adults to grow and use cannabis in private, but public consumption, buying and selling remain explicitly illegal. Let's say it once more, to be clear: buying and selling are illegal. Even with limited ‘Section 21’ medical exemptions allowing for medical use, these rules are often murky and inconsistently applied.
The law may say sales are prohibited, yet walk into many of these outlets and you’ll find cannabis on open display – no membership card or medical script required. And law enforcement seems to turn a blind eye to the fairly open trade in cannabis across the city. Time Out asked the SA Police Service to explain why this might be, but received no reply. We then asked the City of Cape Town, who referred us back to the SAPS. And so, here we are.
All of which puts cannabis lounges, dispensaries and cannabis consumers in an uncertain legal space. But, that’s not stopping some private clubs from finding a quasi-legal workaround.
"South Africa’s cannabis laws are in a transitional space. While private use and cultivation of cannabis for personal consumption is legal, the public sale or purchase of cannabis remains prohibited,” explains a spokesperson from The House of Tiger in De Waterkant. “That’s where private cannabis clubs like ours come in. We function as a closed-loop, members-only collective. This means we do not sell cannabis – we facilitate safe, informed access to cannabis for our members, grown and shared within the club’s private ecosystem.”
Yet across the city, the reality varies. Some clubs maintain strict membership protocols; others simply sell over the counter. For now, navigating Cape Town’s cannabis lounges means understanding the grey zones and accepting that the legal landscape is still, in many ways, up in smoke. Until the nuts and bolts of the latest Act become clearer, cannabis consumers should realise that they roll up at their own risk.
Still curious? Here’s where to start: a guide to some of Cape Town’s most popular cannabis lounges and private clubs.
