Since 2018, the Constitutional Court in South Africa has decriminalized cannabis. Consequently, it is no longer considered a criminal offense for individuals to use and cultivate cannabis privately for personal use. To obtain cannabis legally, one must go through a Section 21 Application, which requires a prescription from a registered doctor and approval from SAHPRA, the local medical regulatory authority.

As well as facilitating legal access to cannabis-based medicines, all medicinal cannabis therapies are initiated by a specialist following a clinical assessment of your condition. Our patients are supported by a team of health professionals, adjusting medications as necessary and prescribing from a wide range of cannabis medicines, all subject to strict pharmaceutical quality controls with SAHPRA oversight.

As with any prescription medication, patients should be aware of these, particularly medicinal cannabis patients consuming high THC medicines.

These may include increased heart rate, co-ordination problems, dry mouth, red eyes, slower reaction times, fatigue and sedation, feelings of euphoria (intense happiness), vertigo, nausea and vomiting, or anxiety, appetite increase, hallucinations or paranoid delusions and diarrhoea.

Please consult with a cannabinoid prescribing doctor to discuss possible side effects and what steps should be taken if you experience any adverse effects after administering medicinal cannabis.

For people that have never tried medicinal cannabis before, the doctors will carefully determine your condition and the most appropriate treatment regime. Medicinal Cannabis can take from a few days up to 3 months in order to feel the full benefit of the treatment depending on your condition. Vaporisation results in rapid absorption into the body, with first effects occurring typically within 90 seconds, reaching a peak after 15-30 minutes, and lasting 2-4 hours. This method is best used where a rapid onset of action is desired. Oral preparations such as oils or capsules are absorbed more slowly and take around 30-90 minutes to take effect. Peak effects occur after 2-4 hours and can last for up to 8 hours. Exactly how people respond varies from person to person and cannabis doesn’t work for everyone. 

Purchasing or consuming cannabis from the black market exposes patients to numerous risks. Legal producers of cannabis products follow the stringent rules of their countries’ health regulations, while illegal growers do not follow any specified regulations or standards. Regulations and standards are in place to ensure the supply of the highest quality medical grade product. This is to guarantee that their products meet health and safety standards, and provide consistent dosages which are essential in treating health conditions.

The average product cost ranges between R500 to R1800 per month, depending on your treatment requirements, which includes the ratio and quantity of THC and CBD in the prescribed product; the amount individually used and the product format (i.e. Sprays, capsules, vapes, oils and flower).

The cost of the consultation can be claimed by your medical aid. All of the products are NAPPI Coded, so you may reach out to your medical aid for reimbursement.

Consult instantly with our cannabinoid prescribing On-Demand doctors to assess your eligibility and to receive your prescription. (Click HERE to consult now over WhatsApp) Your medicine can be delivered straight to your home through our partner service Introcann/Cannabis Clinics.

Consult instantly with our On-Demand doctors to receive your repeat script. Please be aware that you must have regular reviews with our clinicians to continue/adjust treatment.

You can smoke medicinal cannabis, although this is not advised as the combustion of the plant material destroys many of the available terpenes and cannabinoids. Preferred methods for consuming medicinal cannabis are: Oral – using oil drops, sprays or capsules; Topical – using patches, gels or creams applied directly to the skin; and Low Heat Vaporisation – inhalation via a medical device that heats the cannabis flower or oils to release cannabinoids without burning or combustion of plant material.

Medicinal cannabis can be utilised to effectively manage a number of conditions and symptoms, such as Chronic Pain, Neuropathic Pain, Fibromyalgia, Ankylosing spondylitis, Stiff Person Syndrome, Osteoarthritis, Endometriosis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Cancer related Chronic Pain, Chemotherapy Induced Nausea & Vomiting, Wasting Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Insomnia and Anxiety.

Simple consult with our Whatsup Doc medical doctors. (Click HERE) To help our cannabinoid prescribers make a full assessment about your condition, they may require information from your GP and/or specialists you may have seen already.

The consultation with our medical doctors is available on-demand (instantly over WhatsApp, click HERE to consult now)). The doctor will then submit the application. Once you have paid the SAHPRA fee, the clinical team reviews the information submitted by the doctor and may request additional information. The clinical team then submits the documentation to SAHPRA for approval.

The SAHPRA approval process may be complete within 2-3 business days. This turnaround time has been indicated on their website.

From consultation to delivery takes between 3-7 days

Our partner services strive to process patients’ prescriptions as swiftly as possible, however, at times there are unavoidable delays.

A medical cannabis consultation with Whatsup Doc is R250 for cash patients. Medical Aid rates vary (billed on 0130/0132 telemedicine billing codes). The consult fee does not include the SAHPRA fee (R350) and cost of medication.

Medicinal Cannabis products are not currently reimbursed by medical aid schemes. The cost of the doctor consultation is covered by medical aid schemes.

We encourage patients to discuss the prescription reimbursement with their individual medical aid scheme.