Marijuana. Dagga. Cannabis. Weed. Pot. Ganga. Whatever you call it, it’s a hotly debated substance lately. The Netherlands was the first country to legalise it, leading to drug tourism and a surge in visitors not just to their “coffee shops” but also the nearby donner and pizza places. But now attitudes are changing worldwide, with numerous states in the US legalising medicinal and recreational use. On a day when many South Africans wish they could forget everything that’s happening in the country, it appears that it’s now legally possible to do so.
The Western Cape High Court handed down a landmark ruling today, declaring that bans on the usage of dagga by adults in private homes are unconstitutional. The ruling allows for possession, cultivation and use of cannabis at home for private use, which also means that Parliament must change sections of the Drug Trafficking Act and the Medicines Control Act in the next 24 months.
The successful application to decriminalise dagga was driven by Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton and Rastafarian Garreth Prince who argued on December 13 and 14 last year for the decriminalisation of the herb.
[…] They submitted that the laws prohibiting dagga use are unfair, discriminatory, outdated, and applied disproportionately to black users.The two have been helping people arrested for possession of dagga by obtaining a stay of prosecution, pending the outcome of their application.
Prince was arrested for possession of dagga in 1989, while a law student at the University of the Western Cape.
He paid a R60 fine and thought that was the end of it. When he graduated and applied to the Cape Bar to be admitted as an attorney, he was rejected because of the dagga conviction, and because he refused to apologise for it.
To Prince, using dagga was a religious choice as a Rastafarian. He unsuccessfully brought an application to the Constitutional Court to have it decriminalised for religious purposes.
This is big news for South Africans of all walks of life. While this decriminalized religious practices for Rastafarians, it also can help numerous people with medical woes that can be helped with dagga. I personally know people who have benefitted from the use of cannabis oil or smoking of weed for everything from anxiety to overcoming side effects of cancer treatments. Now, we can all be a little happier in our own homes.
Last Updated: March 31, 2017
ElimiNathan
March 31, 2017 at 10:49
420 everyday!
Banana Jim's Final Form!
March 31, 2017 at 10:49
I have nothing to add except…. Rastafarians and hippies smell like cabbage….
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 11:04
What kind of cabbage are you smoking then?!
Jackie
March 31, 2017 at 10:53
Being a gamer keeps me broke enough to keep me safe from this :V
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 10:57
This should bring the “it’s all natural bro” crowd in quite quickly 😛
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 13:15
People who use THAT argument to justify smoking weed are at the bottom end of the intelligence pool.
There are FAR better arguments for it.
And it’s fun.
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 13:17
Yea. But the sad part is that those idiots are in abundance.
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 13:19
I shoot them down when I encounter them. They give pot smokers a bad name.
Aaaaand now I have a Bon Jovi song in my head.
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 13:20
XD
Skittle
March 31, 2017 at 11:02
Wanna get a ‘lil high?
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 11:03
Finally some sense. Too bad this news is highly marred by the other kak happening at the moment.
Kervyn Cloete
March 31, 2017 at 11:22
“Highly”
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 11:23
*grin* I only saw that after I posted the comment. Wondered if someone would pick it up.
I_am_Duffman!
March 31, 2017 at 13:30
Well. Because of all the other kak happening, this will fly under the radar of all the Huisgenoot tannies that would otherwise throw up a shitstorm of complaints.
Also, might just be me being all positive, but the other kak might not be too bad in the long run. A lot of friends turned into enemies today.
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 13:40
I am also sincerely hoping for the positive to come to pass, trust me, it’s all I’ve been hoping for since I heard the news.
But I’m also not sure what pissed me off more: the fact that he’s done something at total and complete disregard for EVERY OTHER PERSON IN THE COUNTRY…AGAIN or that it’s taken his “supporters” this long to finally wake up and smell the shit he’s been shovelling into their coffee.
Admiral Chief
March 31, 2017 at 11:08
http://img.memecdn.com/when-you-hit-the-blunt_o_3889475.jpg
Skittle
March 31, 2017 at 11:12
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7849ea57ab4dee370bdfdfe8f8cc3acfa8c097fde3047c08f60130062f36aaf7.jpg
Fnuik
March 31, 2017 at 11:10
So Zuma isn’t such a big idiot as we all thought.
Zuma: “I’m gonna piss everyone off with my reshuffles but I will do it a day before weed gets legalized and everyone will smoke and be happy again.”
Gavin Mannion
March 31, 2017 at 11:15
Finally… as someone who suffers from chronic pain that Marijuana is proven to help this has been a long time coming.. now to get my gardening skills up to scratch
Admiral Chief
March 31, 2017 at 11:18
Chronic butthurt about sucking at Overwatch?
😛
I_am_Duffman!
March 31, 2017 at 13:31
So where would you find the seeds though?
Original Heretic
March 31, 2017 at 13:42
Yeah that would be a challenge for the medicinal stuff. The guys who grow that generally keep their seeds very closely guarded.
Magoo
March 31, 2017 at 11:22
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6166a962b38cedb4e813d329fd9fd87a7dbe1240647a551c9399b029b1e3fc1a.jpg
Admiral Chief
March 31, 2017 at 11:24
https://media.giphy.com/media/cXaeWuJ1oKO4g/giphy.gif
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 11:38
The religious practices thing I feel might be a stretch though, imho.
Gavin Mannion
March 31, 2017 at 11:52
More believable than people thinking bread turns into the body of christ and wine into his blood.. which is creepy af when you think about it
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 12:10
My point is that religions spring up like nothing. So if Scientology says sniffing cookie dough is a religious thing then suddenly it’s all good. I don’t think for something with medicinal or scientific benefits religion should carry weight in court…but then again…that’s exactly what they do, isn’t it?
konfab
March 31, 2017 at 12:21
My religion deems it necessary not to pay tax.
I am a taxifarian after all.
Admiral Chief
March 31, 2017 at 12:33
I need to convert
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 12:37
Me too.
Ross Woofels Mason
March 31, 2017 at 11:52
Now I can finally stop shitting myself about my plants rofl.
top_kek
March 31, 2017 at 12:15
Finance minister being replaced? “It is groovy, we have legal weed”
top_kek
March 31, 2017 at 12:41
This is going to be a cruel April fools joke.
Captain JJ
March 31, 2017 at 12:42
It would be even worse for not being on April 1st. But then again, our president can’t count, so we shouldn’t be surprised.
TJames47
March 31, 2017 at 12:46
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bc8d68af6bf754fbec627a75f0135eb7dc975157741883b79ff9c59eb6a62438.gif
Craig "CrAiGiSh" Dodd
March 31, 2017 at 14:08
:3