South African Constitutional Court legalizes private use of cannabis

The decision had been expected ever since the High Court of a province in South Africa had ruled unconstitutional the ban on using and growing cannabis at home.

The Constitutional Court has therefore just ruled These bans are also unconstitutional, as they effectively remove the private consumption and cultivation of cannabis for personal use from the scope of criminal law.

Public consumption is still prohibited, as is the sale of cannabis.

In 2017, the High Court of the Western Cape Province ruled that the ban on cannabis in people’s private homes violated the constitutional right to privacy. Rastafarian Garreth Prince and the leader of the Dagga Party Jeremy Acton had taken the case to court. Several government agencies had made it clear that they wanted private use to remain a criminal offense.

At the time, the Court had accepted medical studies showing that alcohol caused more harm than dagga (the local cannabis), and that there was little data on the effectiveness of the cannabis ban in terms of harm reduction.

The South African Parliament then had two years to amend the necessary laws, and the Court had specified that, in the meantime, private cannabis use would no longer be prosecuted.

Literally, you can smoke weed at home tonight.

A man shouts "Babylon" in court. There is a lot of applause, and the court is being very patient with all the interruptions, noise, and cheers.

— Katharine Child (@katjanechild) September 18, 2018

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