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The Constitutional Court has delivered its long-awaited judgment on the legal status of private marijuana use in South Africa, declaring it legal within the confines of a home.

This judgment stems from the original controversial ruling in the Western Cape High Court in 2017, which stated that the possession, cultivation and use of dagga at home was allowed.

The High Court also ruled that Parliament should change sections of the Drug Trafficking Act, as well as the Medicines Control Act. The legislature has been given 24 months to do so.

In March 2017, Justice Dennis Davis handed down a judgement in the Western Cape High Court that declared sections of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Acts as invalid and unconstitutional after the application brought by Rastafarian lawyer Gareth Prince, an advocate for the decriminalisation of marijuana.

Essentially, the ConCourt has declared that the ban on private use and the cultivation of dagga within a private home or property, is unconstitutional.

You can now smoke dagga legally at home, and grow enough for personal consumption. Unfortunately you cannot smoke it in public and dealing in the product is still considered illegal.

Following the ruling, many members of the community have kicked off celebrations:

  Pictures: Unsplash

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