Days before the May 27 general elections, marking a significant shift in South African politics as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority after three decades, another important change quietly unfolded: the country’s drug laws underwent a notable amendment, largely unnoticed by the public.
Just one day before the landmark vote, President Cyril Ramaphosa approved the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, making South Africa the first African country to legalize the use of marijuana.
This means that cannabis is no longer classified as an outlawed narcotic in South Africa. Adults are now free to grow and consume the plant, provided it is not done in the presence of children.
The law also ensures that citizens arrested for possession of marijuana will not have a criminal record.
However, it is uncertain if the approximately 3,000 people imprisoned for cannabis-related offenses as of 2022 will be released.
“Ramaphosa finally found his pen at last, and cannabis is no longer classified as a dangerous, dependence-producing substance in South Africa,” said Myrtle Clarke, co-founder of Fields of Green for ALL, an NGO campaigning for cannabis reform, in an interview with Al Jazeera from Johannesburg. “Now we can move on to what to do about trade, which remains illegal.”
Unlike other countries that have legalized cannabis, such as Malta, Canada, and Uruguay, acquiring cannabis lawfully in South Africa has not been addressed.
As a consumer, you are expected to grow it yourself. Selling the plant is still illegal unless it is for medicinal purposes and prescribed by a certified medical doctor.
“What the bill effectively does is, if for some reason you get caught with some amount of cannabis that a policeman thinks is too much for your personal use, you can’t be charged as a drug dealer,” Clarke explained.
It is now permissible to have a cannabis garden in your backyard as long as it is not commercialized.
