Building sustainable pathways for cannabis, natural, & controlled substances to flourish.
From Prohibition to Possibility.
We bring legal and strategic insight and clarity, systems thinking and fit-for-purpose solutions to the regulated and to the unregulated Cannabis, natural and controlled substance markets.
We Specialise:
Responsible Adult-use Cannabis
Non-Commercial & Private Adult-use: Private Cannabis Collectives (PCC)
We bring legal and strategic insight and clarity, systems thinking and fit-for-purpose solutions to the regulated and to the unregulated Cannabis, natural and controlled substance markets.
• Legal Advisory
• Blueprinting of PCC model & systems
• Customised Legal Architecture
• PCC Management System (SOPs, forms, logs, etc)
• Employee training & onboarding
• Ongoing compliance support and consulting
Commercial Adult-use:
Medicinal Cannabis
We support clients across the lifecycle of pharmaceutical Cannabis compliance presently regulated by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA):
• Feasibility assessments, SAHPRA Licensing & Regulatory Roadmapping
• Legal/Regulatory Advisory and Research
• Advocacy and SAHPRA Engagement / Liaising
• Advising on & drafting contractual frameworks
• Compliance Systems & Operational Readiness
• Site Master File and internal policy drafting
• Quality Management System design & implementation
• SOP and policy drafting for audit and compliance readiness
• Internal Audits
• Staff training
While we advocate that the adult-use and pharmaceutical markets are distinct, and question the SAHPRA’s mandate to regulate cultivation, we help clients navigate this space with rigour and clarity.
Industrial Cannabis (‘Hemp’)
We support Industrial Cannabis (aka hemp) ventures with permitting, compliance and legal structuring in line with the regulatory framework promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD):
• Agricultural Premises Registration & Permit support and compliance
• DALRRD liaison and regulatory roadmapping
• Legal/Regulatory Advisory and Research
• Advising on & drafting contractual frameworks
• Compliance systems (e.g., GlobalG.A.P. or ISO22000) and audit preparation
• Potency testing facilitation and DALRRD inspection support
• Staff training
• Advocacy efforts for regulatory clarity, inclusion and viability
We are ready to facilitate your compliant entry and participation in these exciting, new green economies, from raw material to downstream product markets.
(B) We are not alchemists; we can’t legitimise or ‘legalise’ this.
(C) However, through our Responsible Adult-use (RAU) Lab, we are committed to assisting the community in professionalizing for the sake of consumer safety and harm reduction, in line with emerging and global standards.
Understanding Private Cannabis Collectives
Private Cannabis Collectives: Built for Privacy, Structured for Compliance.
We help you build a constitutionally grounded, non-commercial Private Cannabis Collective (PCC) established to realise community members’ rights, strengthen your operations, and prepare you for scrutiny in a shifting legal landscape.
Our Shared Collective Model (SCM) of PCC draws from South Africa’s twin constitutional protections of privacy and freedom of association. While PCC’s remain in somewhat of a legal grey area, our role is to help you create the strongest possible foundation for your members’ bona fide, responsible and collective participation in the exercise of their Cannabis Private-use Rights.
What Sets Us Apart
The SCM Prioritises
A closed and private, unified ecosystem that is produced, participated in, and owned by its community members. It operates as a non-profit structure with no shares, no profits, and no dividends.
Designed to Withstand Scrutiny
We design the theory (Legal Architecture) and operations (Management System) of your PCC directly upon constitutional legal principles, namely human rights, not assumptions or shortcuts. This constitutional logic and foresight offers you a bona fide (genuine) position in uncertain terrain.
We don’t sell loopholes. We build living models
Your PCC may not be legally bulletproof, but it can be principled, prepared, and built to stand its ground. PCCs are not technical tricks; they are serious, rights- and community-based structures.
Our Core PCC Service Offering
1. Blueprinting
We assess your vision and risk profile to design a legal structure and system tailored to your PCC’s needs and legal exposure.
2. Build-out
We erect your PCC’s Legal Architecture and design its operational, Management System aligned with non-commercial, responsible and private adult-use principles.
3. Bootstraps
Choose from our add-on products to continually reinforce the feedback loop between internal governance and culture, on the one hand, and external perception or reputational credibility, on the other.
4. Ongoing Support
Through optional retainers, we help your PCC stay responsive — updating documents, offering guidance, and adapting operations and systems as laws evolve.
Thank you for being the legal architects of Jozi Joint. The best is yet to come."
Their shared vision for safe, accessible cannabis, paired with deep legal expertise, guided us through every step. We appreciated their openness to new ideas and their ability to translate complex legal frameworks into practical solutions.
If you need partners who combine constitutional insight with a clear understanding of the cannabis landscape, this is the team you want on your side.”
They took the time to understand our vision, guided us through complex regulations, and maintained open, transparent communication throughout the process. Their approach was thorough, professional, and tailored to our needs.
We couldn’t have asked for better partners to help shape our collective. Their role in bringing The North Canna Network PCC to life has been invaluable.”
We’re deeply grateful for their insight, professionalism, and the strong partnership we’ve built together.”
Their collaborative approach and integrity gave us complete peace of mind, and their support made a complex process feel straightforward.
I would confidently recommend them to anyone seeking trusted legal guidance.”
From navigating complex cannabis regulations to designing practical management and compliance systems, they guided us with clarity, expertise, and strategic foresight. They translated technical legal requirements into workable solutions our team can confidently implement.
Dank Valley Collective stands on a solid, compliant foundation because of their work. We’d recommend Harambe Solutions to any cannabis organisation ready to do things properly.”
Bridging the gap: Harambe Solutions responsible adult-use lab:
Support for the outright Commercial Adult-use market
While the supply of Cannabis for adult use remains prohibited under South African law, millions of South Africans continue to access it, often without reliable information, product testing, or consumer safeguards, placing the public health and the sustainability of our future legal markets at risk.
While Harambe Solutions does not advise, promote or facilitate the commercial supply of Cannabis in the adult-use market, we do recognise the urgent need to protect consumers, promote harm reduction, and support those who seek to raise the standard of care and responsibility in the still clearly illegal Cannabis economy.
To meet these needs, we offer a unique suite of legal and compliance products and services via our Responsible Adult-Use (RAU) Lab.
Some of the these services and products include:
• Product Labelling & Consumer Information:
Clear, informative labels for Cannabis products, empowering consumers to make safe and informed choices.
• HACCP System Integration:
A tailored food safety management system for Cannabis producers, ensuring products are safe and uncontaminated.
• Compliance & Consumer Protection:
Helping retailers meet the standards outlined in the Consumer Protection Act, fostering trust and transparency.
We do not advise or promote illegal Cannabis trade. But we firmly believe that the law’s painstakingly slow catch-up process should not hinder the responsible and safe production and consumption of adult-use Cannabis.
Let us help you navigate your legal journey with confidence and peace of mind.
Contact Harambe Solutions today.
Rooted in partnership, driven by purpose
Resources (Blog)
Who is Harambe Solutions
About Us
Harambe Solutions is a legal and strategic advisory firm specialising in the evolving Cannabis landscape in South Africa.
With deep legal insight, operational know-how, and a passion for collaborating and building fit-for-purpose solutions and community across streams, we guide our clients from confusion to clarity.
Brett Pollack – Director & Legal Specialist
Brett brings a sharp legal mind and a passion for constitutionalism to the Cannabis space. With years of experience navigating South Africa’s evolving legal terrain, he’s committed to helping clients establish credible, defensible operations rooted in coherence and legal integrity.
Marleen Theunissen – Director & Systems Specialist
Marleen combines strategic thinking with hands-on operational experience. Her ability to translate complex compliance requirements into clear systems, and structures makes her an invaluable partner to PCCs, cultivators and Cannabis entrepreneurs across the country.
Our Story
Harambe Solutions was co-founded in 2022 by systems strategist Marleen Theunissen and lawyer Brett Pollack, following years of collaboration in South Africa’s largely prohibitionist Cannabis climate.
Their shared goal: to guide Cannabis stakeholders from confusion to clarity
with principled, practical, and legally aligned support.
They authored the Private Cannabis Club: Framework Manual for Set-up
& Management, a legal and operational guide for establishing collectives
within South Africa’s constitutional framework.
Launched formally in 2023, Harambe Solutions is a specialist consultancy focused on PCCs, and medicinal and industrial Cannabis. Today, they continue to bridge law and operations with tailored legal design, governance tools, and compliance systems—helping clients build bona fide, values-driven ventures in uncertain legal terrain.
What drives us is simple
A belief that Cannabis reform must be rooted in constitutionalism and rights, guided by law, and made accessible to all. We work in a continuous feedback loop with our clients, aligning systems with evolving regulations, while honouring the social, medicinal, and economic value of the Plant.
We strive to be a trusted, inclusive name in South Africa’s Cannabis, natural and controlled substances economies – one that balances constitutional rights, legal integrity, and sustainable participation across adult-use, pharmaceutical, and industrial spaces.
Our Mission is to provide fit-for-purpose and durable solutions with legal integrity.