In a victory for marijuana users across South Africa, ConCourt has officially legalised marijuana use in a private capacity. The judgement was made just after 10:15 on Tuesday morning.
The Western Cape High Court sensationally ruled that marijuana should be legalised for home use in 2017.
However, the state appealed this decision, putting it on the backburner for another year.
The judgement was delivered by the Deputy Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo. He’s also the head of the state capture inquiry, and his day doesn’t end with this: Mr Zondo will be attending the commission’s hearing on Tuesday, where ABSA representatives are expected to testify.
The government now has 24 months to officially write this bill into law.
However, private use does have the go-ahead as of Tuesday 18 September. Zondo clarified that it is now up to the ruling ANC to decide what quantities are allowed per person, and it must strictly be based on “personal use”:
The official status for marijuana is that it is now “decriminalised”. However, dealing marijuana, selling it on to others or smoking it outside the confines of your own home remains an illegal practice.