Legal View - Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, No 7 of 2024

What are the forthcoming changes in the law regarding growing, using and possession of cannabis? 

By Prof. Graham Paddock

Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, No 7 of 2024

This law, signed by the President on 28 May 2024, deals with the growing, use and possession of cannabis (dagga). It gives adults the right to grow, keep and transport cannabis for their personal use, protects children from such use and criminalises other related activities. However, it is not yet in operation—Parliament must first approve the necessary regulations, and the President must then bring the Act into effect by proclamation.

KEY PROVISIONS:

1. Definitions and Interpretation: The Act defines terms such as “adult person”, “cannabis”, “child”, “private place”, “private purpose”, “public place”, and “deal in”. “Adult person” is defined as someone 18 years or older. “Cannabis” includes the flowering or fruiting tops of a cannabis plant, but excludes other parts like seeds, stalks, and roots.

2. Cannabis for Private Purposes by Adult Persons:

• Section 2(1): An adult may use or possess cannabis and provide to or obtain cannabis from another adult without exchange of consideration in a private place for private purposes.
• Section 2(2): Cannabis use in a private place for private purposes is prohibited:
• In the presence of a child or non-consenting adult.
• Within a reasonable distance from windows, ventilation inlets, doorways, or entrances of other places, or in public places where persons congregate and where smoke may cause a disturbance.
• Section 2(3): Adults may possess cannabis in public places, but its use in public places is prohibited.

3. Protection of Children: Adults, other than medical doctors, must not allow children to use or possess cannabis or supply it to them, and must make sure children cannot get to their supplies of cannabis. The best interest of the child is the key consideration in prosecuting cannabis-related offences involving children. 

4. Offences and Penalties: It remains a criminal offence, with penalties of fines and penalties up to 10 years of imprisonment, to: 

• Deal in cannabis without a permit or licence;
• Permit children to use or possess cannabis;
• Fail to store cannabis securely away from children;
• Exceed prescribed amounts of cannabis for private purposes or grow more than allowed number of plants.
• Use or consume cannabis in public places or near others where it may cause a nuisance.

5. Deletion of Criminal Records: The Act provides for deletion (expungement) of past cannabis-related criminal records on application to the South African Police Service.

Implications for Community Schemes:

The private growing and adult use of cannabis will be legal in sectional title and share block schemes, HOAs and retirement developments. Wherever parts of the land and buildings are set aside for separate ownership or use, the adult occupiers will be legally entitled to grow and smoke cannabis on a non-commercial basis, as no parts of community schemes are ‘public places’.

The trustees and directors of community schemes should be looking at their governance documentation to see whether or not they need to make special rules, perhaps to:

• regulate the possible nuisances associated with cannabis growing and personal use, or
• allow owners to use newly demarcated parts of unregulated common property to grow and use cannabis. This could be achieved on a basis similar to the ‘garden allotment’ concept used in other countries where apartment dwellers have no gardens.

There is a lot to think about. 

Perhaps my semi-retirement has just become way more interesting, man!

Courtesy: Paddocks Press

Article reference: Paddocks Press: Volume 19, Issue 7.

Weblink: https://www.paddocks.co.za/paddocks-press-newsletter/cannabis-for-private-purposes

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.