South Africa is currently the third-largest illegal cannabis producer in the world.

In his SONA on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that government would be looking to ease policies to help the hemp and cannabis sectors grow in South Africa.

"We will review the policy and regulatory framework for industrial hemp and cannabis to realise the huge potential for investment and job creation."

Ramaphosa claimed 130 000 jobs could be created if the industry were supported and regulatory processes streamlined.

Co-founder of Hemporium Tony Budden, says we should be focusing on developing the market that exists here in South Africa.

"We have a local market that deserves to have access to affordable hemp and cannabis products" he tells Cape Talk.

[Currently]It's very expensive. This move towards local production is going to see a radical drop [in price] as soon as we have the manufacturing in place.

Tony Budden, Co-founder and owner - Hemporium

That's the key, it's not just cultivation, as the President mentioned, but commercialization and production.

Tony Budden, Co-founder and owner - Hemporium

We need the industrialists now to step in and set up the factories that are going to process all of this product that's going to be grown.

Tony Budden, Co-founder and owner - Hemporium

According to the World Health Organisation, South Africa is the third-largest illegal cannabis producer in the world already, with about 2,500 tons grown a year.

In 2018, cannabis was decriminalised for personal use by the Constitutional Court, while dealing the products and smoking it in public remained illegal.