#We are Here to Help

Harambe Solutions is a professional legal and compliance business in the Cannabis and controlled substances markets.

Impassioned by the plant’s capacity to accelerate the healing history of South Africa, we work in a continuous feedback loop, designing and harmonising our clients’ systems and operations with a creative yet cautious interpretation of the legal and regulatory frameworks across the medicinal, industrial, food and cosmetics, and adult-use Cannabis sectors and spaces.

Inspired to deliver robust and fit-for-purpose solutions to its clients, Harambe Solutions strives to become a household name as an inclusive and professional legal advisory and systems services provider in the South African Cannabis, and controlled substances markets.

Who We Are

Systems designer and lawyer, Harambe Solutions founders Marleen Theunissen and Brett Pollack established a synergistic working relationship towards the end of the divided and predominantly prohibitionist era of the South African Cannabis industries. In early 2022 their consistent efforts and commitments culminated in the publication of their Private Cannabis Club: Framework Manual for Set-up & Management, a tool used for the independent set-up and management of a Private Cannabis Club, according to carefully formulated arguments.

Naturally, they decided to pull together and galvanise their complementary expertise and in 2023 founded Harambe Solutions at an exciting moment: when, for the first time, the death knells of the prohibitionist era started ringing and the hopes for properly liberated and inclusive Cannabis economies in South Africa became realistic.

Approaching a decade of combined, synergistic experience in the Cannabis markets, Harambe Solutions is determined to interactively contribute fit-for-purpose and highly professionalised legal and systems services in the Cannabis and controlled substance markets.

Brett Pollack

Director / Legal Specialist

Brett was admitted as an attorney in 2014 while working in the regulatory department of one of South Africa’s leading corporate/commercial law firms, Bowmans. His speciality is analysing and providing in-depth advice in relation to the legal and regulatory frameworks presently unfolding in the South African Cannabis markets.

His privileged educational background, which includes a BSc, maths & philosophy (Wits), an LLB (UCT), and an MA, African Studies (SOAS) demonstrates his love for critical and creative thinking and research, and insistence on gaining the ‘full picture’ for clients.

Brett’s term of service as a law clerk to the former honourable Justice van der Westhuizen of the Constitutional Court catalysed his passion for and expertise in constitutionalism and human rights, which fundamentally influence the legal services he provides.

Since 2019, Brett has provided legal and consulting services to clients across the budding Cannabis subsectors and now co-founds Harambe Solutions with Marleen as Director and Legal Specialist.

Marleen Theunissen

Director / Systems Specialist

A natural and qualified (B.Ed, Senior Phase) teacher, Marleen loves and has gained a knack for animating and translating theoretical (such as complex legal) concepts into practical and easy-to-apply solutions, processes and systems for clients in the emerging Cannabis economies in South Africa.

Marleen is also a Cannabis activist at heart.

She previously served as operations manager at Fields of Green for ALL – contributing to its Full-Spectrum Manifesto for Cannabis Policy Reform in South Africa, organising and presenting at various local and international events, among other functions. And thus genuinely embraces an educated, science and human-rights based approach to Cannabis regulation and industrialisation in South Africa.
After a number of years plying and galvanising her skills as a Cannabis management systems designer (e.g., GACP, GMP, ISO) via her other business, Cradlestoned Quality Solutions, she co-founds Harambe Solutions with Brett as Director and Systems Specialist.

What We Do

Our service offering covers the entire Cannabis industry, therefore it is important for us to keep track of developments in the industry, such as those discussed at the Presidency Cannabis and Hemp Action Lab Phakisa in June 2023. The changes discussed hold great implications for the entire Cannabis industry at large, however, none of the resolutions made have, as yet, been formally effected. Nonetheless, we keep our fingers on the pulse and are prepared to incorporate these upcoming changes into our service offering.