New law: Smoking weed in private is now legal. Picture: supplied Mark Hutchinson
Six years after the Constitutional Court decriminalised the private use of dagga, and called on Parliament to come up with a legal framework to manage its cultivation and consumption, President Cyril Ramaphosa has enacted the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act.
But Gareth Prince, who represents the Rastafarian community on the Presidential Steering Committee on Cannabis and chairs the Cannabis Development Council of South Africa, said he had reservations about the act.
“First off, there should have been more consultation with the cannabis community of South Africa. Right now, the act speaks about consumption but does not say anything about cultivation,” said Prince.
In addition, cannabis users could still fall foul of the law when it came to the consumption and transportation of dagga, he said.
Prince said the seventh Parliament will have to resolve the legal grey areas of the act, and that the Rastafarian community was looking forward to working with legislators to resolve these matters.
“We want the law to promote our indigenous cannabis cultivars, and thereby assist thousands of farmers,” said Prince.
Under the act, adults are permitted to use and cultivate cannabis for personal use within private spaces. Specifically, it allows individuals to possess up to 600 grams of dried dagga per person, with a maximum of 1.2 kilograms per household if more than one adult resides there.
Additionally, individuals can cultivate up to four flowering cannabis plants per person, with a maximum of eight plants per household.
Public consumption of cannabis remains prohibited, and the act imposes strict penalties on those caught using or displaying boom in public spaces.
The sale and distribution of dagga outside of the regulated framework are also illegal.
The act aims to prevent the commercialisation of cannabis while ensuring that individuals can exercise their right to personal use without facing criminal charges.
The act also outlines specific regulations for medical and scientific research on cannabis. Researchers and medical practitioners can apply for licences to cultivate, process, and distribute cannabis for medicinal purposes, under strict regulatory oversight.
quinton.mtyala@inl.co.za
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