THE CANNABIS BILL – THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS

*This article is not to be seen as legal advice, it is merely a write-up on the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill (B19-2020)*

The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill has been passed and it could become and Act in the near future.

While there is a lot of interest in the Bill, there’s a lot of confusion surrounding it as well.

Here’s a summary of what you can do and what is still deemed illegal:

If you’re one person living by yourself, you are allowed to have 600 grams of dagga in your house. If you are two or more people living together, you’re only allowed to have 1.2 kilogram – that’s the collective amount for everyone in the house.

The same rule applies if you’re going to have dagga plants in your garden. If you’re one person living alone, you can have up to four flowering plants and if you’re more than two people living together, you’re allowed to have eight plants per house.

The Bill stipulates the difference between one big and two small plants.

While the Constitutional Court gave the go-ahead for the personal use of dagga back in 2018 already, it’s important to know that it’s still illegal to use it in public. You can also be arrested if you are caught buying or selling it.

But gifting it is another story…

You’re allowed to give another person 30 grams of seeds; one plant; or 100 grams of dry dagga. But you are not allowed to sell it to anyone, reports Business Insider.

It is an offence to smoke dagga in the immediate presence of a child or any adult that isn’t able to, or hasn’t given their consent.

So, what’s the punishment like regarding the Bill?

You could go to prison for anything between two and 15 years if you are caught on the wrong side of the law.

Check the facts, it’s still the law we’re talking about here.

Watch the Marijuana South Africa video below for more info.

Image credits: Daily Maverick and Fasken