The National Assembly’s decision to adopt the bill has finally stubbed out a five-year-long lull, which followed the groundbreaking 2018 Prince judgment of the Constitutional Court decriminalizing the private use of cannabis.
The ANC, DA, IFP, EFF, NFP, and PAC supported the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, while the FF+ and the ACDP opposed it during the National Assembly’s hybrid plenary on Tuesday afternoon, November 14. DA MP Janho Engelbrecht, who spoke on the bill in the National Assembly, stressed that adults will be allowed to use cannabis only in their homes.
“People should bear in mind what this bill is about. It is about cannabis for private use by adults. You are not allowed to buy or sell cannabis because this still remains a criminal activity with severe consequences. If you want to smoke it, you have to grow it; don’t buy it,” he said.
According to BusinessLIVE, the bill also provides for the expungement of criminal records of those convicted of possession, use, or dealing in cannabis-based on presumption.