South Africa legalizes Cannabis and self-cultivation for own consumption

From now on, it is no longer a crime for adults to possess cannabis, as long as it is private and for their own consumption. However, it remains illegal to use cannabis in public, sell it or provide it.

The Cannabis Development Council of South Africa welcomed the regulation and asked the Government to drop the charges against people who were caught in the past.

Jeremy Acton, leader of the Dagga Party, (in South Africa cannabis is known as “dagga”) said regulation should have gone even further, also legalizing cannabis possession in public places.

This law proves that the Constitution of South Africa is one of the most liberal in the world, recognizing the right of the individual to grow and smoke their own cannabis, contrary to the Government's concerns with public order or health issues.

South Africa has thousands in prison for petty crimes related to the sale of cannabis, so the impact of the new law will be huge. The Government must now decide the maximum amount of cannabis that can be possessed.

With the authorization of self-cultivation, the Constitutional Court hopes to undermine organized cannabis trafficking groups, but the police (who were also against this law) fear that this regulation will create more ambiguity.

The problem is that the Court's regulations did not provide for any form of cannabis trade, which means that the Government will not be able to tax the market for cannabis transactions.

The Court gave the South African Parliament 24 months to update and apply the law.

In Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have already legalized cannabis, but only for medicinal purposes.
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Featured Photo: DR // Herb.co