A bill could soon be heading to the desk of President Cyril Ramaphosa, which aims to clear up uncertainties in the regulations about the legal use, cultivation and transportation of marijuana, (locally known as dagga) in the country.
On 27 February 2024, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) passed the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, which is set to introduce a new set of regulations. Forty votes were in favour of the bill, and three were against it. In November last year, the bill was approved by the National Assembly.
According to law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH Incorporated), in 2018, The Constitutional Court decriminalised the private possession, cultivation and use of cannabis by adults in South Africa.
The firm advised: “The court also ordered Parliament to pass legislation to amend the Medicines Act and the Drugs Act by September 2020. The court further held that a ‘reading-in’ approach should be followed until such time as Parliament is able to rectify the constitutional defects. The reading-in approach is a proactive remedy to grant Parliament time to cure defects in current legislation. So, at present, an adult who is criminally charged in respect of the use, possession, purchase or cultivation of cannabis for personal consumption in a private dwelling would have a defence to the charges, but the purchase and dealing in cannabis outside of a private dwelling that is not used for personal consumption, is still illegal.”
There is also currently no mention of traditional healers and Rastafari in the bill.
As reported by News24, Paul-Michael Keichel, a specialist attorney at Cullinan & Associates, who has been involved with cannabis regulation since 2009, explained that “further regulation will be required, if the bill is approved, to stipulate the amount of cannabis that can be stored, cultivated or transported in different circumstances.”
As it stands, there are some issues which need to be clarified regarding the private usage, cultivation and transportation of cannabis in South Africa. The new bill on the way to the President will provide more clarity in these areas.
