Mandisa Magubane 

In 2018 the Constitutional Court ruled that it is not a criminal offence for an adult citizen to be in possession, grow cannabis and use for personal consumption.

This ruling caused misunderstanding among citizen on the use of dagga. This has led to the inappropriate use and abuse of weed. In a statement by the SAPS it clarified the question behind the distribution of the dagga.

According to a statement by the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), it is illegal to market or sell cannabis online, be it on social media platforms as well as illegal dispensaries.

National Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo say that Dealing in cannabis remains a serious criminal offence in terms of the Drug and Drug Trafficking Act (No 140 of 1992).

“The definition of dealing is made very clear in the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, which currently reads (with the words ‘read in’ by the Constitutional Court) in relation to a drug, includes performing any act in connection with the transshipment, importation, cultivation other than the cultivation of cannabis by an adult in a private place for his or her personal consumption in private, collection, manufacture, supply, prescription, administration, sale, transmission or exportation of the drug,” he said.

5 things you need to know about the use of cannabis in South Africa:

• You can crew cannabis on private personal grounds.
• You cannot smoke cannabis on other grounds other than your own.
• You are permitted to use cannabis for personal recreational or medicinal use, alone or with friends and family over the age of 18.
• You are not allowed to smoke cannabis in public, failure to comply may result in an arrest
• It is a criminal offense to buy and sell cannabis.