As officially introduced in Government Gazette No. 43595 of 7 August 2020, the so-called Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill made its debut into the public sphere and recently tabled in Parliament on 1 September 2020. This Bill was drafted at the direction of the Constitutional Court in the seminal case of Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development & Others v Prince (Clarke and Others Intervening); National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others v Rubin; National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others v Acton [2018] ZACC 30. In this judgment, Judge Zondo referred certain legislation back to parliament to be redrafted to cure its deficiencies insofar as the legislation unconstitutionally infringed on one’s right to privacy by criminalising the private use and cultivation of cannabis.
While it was not expected that the referral back to parliament would result in the wholesale legalisation of cannabis in South Africa, those with skin in the game felt quietly optimistic that the coming Bill would be the first step in a revised, progressive approach to cannabis, one which would in due course see the unlocking of the myriad benefits of the plant, such as the tax revenue which could be generated, the jobs created, or the environmentally-friendly textiles and building materials which could be sustainably and cost-effectively produced.
Upon even a cursory glance at the Bill, those hopes were very quickly dashed.
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