BREAKING NEWS: Cannabis private purposes bill officially signed into law

SOUTH AFRICA – President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, which regulates the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis by adults in a private setting. This will allow the removal of cannabis from the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.

However, the sale of dagga remains prohibited. The personal and private cultivation, possession and use of cannabis by adults was decriminalised in 2018 following a ruling by the Constitutional Court. Since then, a bill on the issue has been in the works. In February, the National Council of Provinces voted in favour of the adoption of the bill.

“This will further enable amendment of the Schedules to the Medicines and Related Substances Act and provide for targeted regulatory reform of the Plant Breeders Rights Act and the Plant Improvement Act, as well as other pieces of legislation that require amendment to allow for the industrialisation of the cannabis sector,” said Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

“The bill further guides the medically prescribed administration of cannabis to a child while also protecting children from undue exposure to cannabis. It provides for an alternative manner by which to address the issue of the prohibited use, possession of, or dealing in, cannabis by children, with due regard to the best interest of the child.”