Cabinet has approved the Bill regulating the private use of cannabis and setting the limit of the quantity that may be possessed by an individual. It criminalises the smoking of cannabis in public places.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill would now be sent to Parliament, notes Business Day. The Constitutional Court in 2018 opened the gates for adult South Africans to legally grow and use cannabis privately, while criminalising commercial use despite its potential economic benefits.
A report released in 2019 by Europe-based market intelligence and strategic consultancy Prohibition Partners showed that Africa’s legal cannabis industry could generate more than $7.1bn (R123bn) a year by 2023 if more of the continent’s big markets open up and follow the trend of legalisation seen in the US, Canada and Europe. In South Africa, the domestic market is expected to be worth almost R30bn by 2023.
The Bill gives effect to Constitutional Court judgement that struck down parts of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992 (Act 140 of 1992) and the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act of 1965. Polity reports that the ruling was suspended for two years to allow MPs to replace the sections deemed unconstitutional by the court and write regulations on the personal cultivation and growth of marijuana.
In terms of the draft law, smoking cannabis in public remains illegal but consuming it in private is allowed. Adults may possess up to 600 grammes of the drug, or 1,200 grammes per household, for private use. The limit for public possession is 60 grammes.
Buying and selling trafficable amounts of marijuana remains criminal and is subject to imprisonment.
The report says the legalisation of what has long been a common drug in South African culture has enjoyed the vocal support of finance Minister Tito Mboweni, who has said he is eager to unlock the economic potential of cultivation and believed it could contribute as much as R4bn to the economy.
Business Tech reports that the draft Bill states that an adult person may for personal use: possess the prescribed quantity of cannabis plant cultivation material; cultivate the prescribed quantity of cannabis plants in a private place; possess in private, the prescribed quantity of cannabis in a public place; possess the prescribed quantity of cannabis in a private place; and possess in private, the prescribed quantity of cannabis plants in a public place.
The Bill defines a "private place" as any place, including a building, house, room, shed, hut, tent, mobile home, caravan, boat or land or any portion thereof, to which the public does not have access as of right.
The draft legislation also states that an adult person may, without the exchange of remuneration provide to, or obtain from, another adult person, for personal use the prescribed quantity of: cannabis plant cultivation material; cannabis plants; and cannabis.
The draft Bill sets outs “prescribed quantities” for both personal use and cultivation purposes. The Bill also allows for the possession of cannabis ‘in private’ in a public place, but this is limited to 100 grams. The draft Bill also sets out offences around cannabis use and children. This includes offences for guardians who allow their children to deal, possess or consume cannabis.
There are strict penalties for people who are found breaking the above offences, with the most egregious offenders facing a fine or imprisonment of up to 15 years.
The minimum penalty for an offence is a fine or two years in prison.
While the draft Bill introduces a number of new offences, it also makes specific provision for people who have been convicted on cannabis-related offences in the past.
The new Bill can be found at the end of this article.
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