Archived Articles

After many years of simple prohibition, the world is in the process of re-evaluating its attitude to and regulation of cannabis and products made from the plant. Cannabis is widely grown, in almost all countries, and has been used for various reasons for millennia. Andy Gray of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Pharmacology Division provides a precise treatise of legislative changes around medicinal cannabis.

It is not often that all sectors of an industry come together for skills sharing, deliberations on policy and to chart a way towards a common and shared future. However, the pharmacy profession does this triennially at the National Pharmacy Conference (NPC) – with every periodic meeting being more resounding success than the previous.

Following the promulgation of the Regulations relating to continuing professional development by the Minister of Health in May 2019, the South African Pharmacy Council published the Rules relating to continuing professional development (Board Notice 179) in September 2019, paving the way for the implementation of the regulations.

South Africa’s unemployment rate has been stubbornly high for several years now, as the economy is not creating enough jobs to meet the demand. Pharmacy graduates are one of the many graduates affected by this phenomenon, with some finding themselves without internship placement on graduation. The South African Pharmacy Council urges pharmacies to use the ‘training delegation regulation’ to employ more interns per approved tutor.

The Pharmacy Act requires of the Registrar to keep up-to-date accurate registers of persons registered to practise the calling of pharmacy in South Africa. The accuracy of the details on the registers is required for verification of registration and registration details, as well as the communication of Council decisions and changes in legislation and procedures to registered persons.

As the world embraces the 4^th Industrial Revolution and we move ever further into the digital age, it is with great excitement that we announce the decision to issue all registered pharmacy professionals with digital registration cards from October 2020.

The South African Pharmacy Council continually strives for excellence and looks for ways to improve upon its responsibilities to the profession. With the aim of protecting the good image of the pharmacy profession, the SAPC has revised the inspection grading methodology and is taking action against pharmacies who continually fail to comply with the GPP.

After serving as Council’s Treasurer since 2013, Ms Nocawe Thipa informed the South African Pharmacy Council of her retirement from the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) with effect from 30 April 2020.