Jane Mlambo| The Constitutional Court of South Africa has today decriminalized use and possession of dagga for private use by any adults.

The ConCourt also gave Parliament of South Africa 24 months to change a section of the medicine controls act as well as two years to change the laws regarding home use of marijuana.

The ruling hasn’t however, said how much a person can legally have, and that will be up to parliament.

“The right to privacy is not confined to a home or private dwelling. It will not be a criminal offence for an adult person to use or be in possession of cannabis in private space,” deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo said in the ruling.

“This Court must invoke its powers under s 172 (1) (b) of the Constitution to order a suspension of the declaration of invalidity for a realistic period to ensure Parliament may correct the defect. In my view, a period of 24 months from the date of this judgment would be appropriate.

“The order also makes clear that the relevant provisions are only unconstitutional to the extent that they trench upon the private use and consumption of a quantity of cannabis for personal purposes, which the legislative considers does not constitute undue harm.”

The initial ruling by the Western Cape High court still left the legality of it in question, but this ruling now by the constitutional court makes it very clear that it’ll soon be perfectly legal to use marijuana at home.
And honestly? That’s a good thing. By decriminalising weed, it becomes possible for it to become completely legal – which could see job creation, taxation, regulation and other benefits.

South Africa online media