History has been made in the Cape Town High Court with this 66 page judgement from Judge Denis Davis and the bench of three. The use and cultivation of cannabis in the privacy of your own home has now been deemed constitutional.
You can download the full judgement here:
CTHC dagga Judgement Mar17
I live in N Cape and was recently arrested for cultivating dagga(17Plants). Can anyone tell me how binding the judgement of the W Cape high court is in other provinces?
Hi Mossad, You can use the Western Cape High Court judgement in your defense if the plants were at your home. The judgement applies to the whole of SA, not just the WC. If you would like to apply for a stay in prosecution please visit our legal help website http://www.jointheq.co.za.
All the best.
This is a step in the right direction. The judgement goes into a lot of detail as to why and how decriminalising the use of Cannabis for personal use in the privacy of one’s own home does not fall foul of the UN treaties on narcotics and psychoactive substances. That’s very important, because the SA Government is, like the other Commonwealth countries, very aware of the obligations under the treaties and not in a hurry to do anything that will force non-compliance.
It’s not a done deal until Parliament repeals certain sections of the relevant acts, and the government might still appeal the judgement, but it looks like they are less and less determined to fight for prohibition. Perhaps with the careful explanation by the learned justices they will be more confident that decriminalising Cannabis possession is not a breech of the UN treaties.
It’s going to be necessary to get enough consensus to force the WHO to do a review of the evidence in order to recommend to the UN that Cannabis be removed from the list of prohibited substances before full legalisation of the plant will be palatable to governments including South Africa’s. The more dominoes that fall, the more likely it will be that the international legislation will be changed.
I doubt that this will be a top-down process because the people involved are well aware that legalising Cannabis will pull the rug out from under the “War on Drugs” and all that is funded from the illegal trade in narcotics. This has to be driven by ordinary people chipping away at the mountain of ignorance, racism and prejudice that is the foundation of anti-drug prohibition. The freedom to use Cannabis as we see fit is a giant step towards reclaiming all of our rights as humans.
Hi Ken, we are members of a number of organisations that are petitioning the WHO and the UN to amend the Cannabis protocols for the international treaties. Unfortunately it seems that these people spend more time flying around the world attending conferences than doing any actual work at home! We will keep our supporters informed if we hear anything. Thanks for the helpful insights for everyone reading these comments. Please consider joining The Green Network as we need more informed voices like yours on our forums.
And hemp seed bars at every rural primary school, to add protein and Omega oils to those feeding schwme peanutbutter sandwiches and feed the developing brains of our future!
Truly amazing, thanking you one & all for the many sacrifices you’ve made, bringing us out of the dark ages of rediculous thought & law. Selfless indeed. Heroes! ?✨?????
Comment…Happy with the victory of CTHC may the parliament quicken the amendment of constitution.
Thanks for the hard work and commitment. You have given a future to our rural communities and opportunities to those who have been shut out of the big companies that has monopolized business in RSA.
Good to know my signature on a petition counted, and there is hope for the little man winning big battles in South Africa!
Blessed.
Thank you!
Momentous day. Congratulations and many thanks to all who persevered and fought for this freedom ?????
Thank you! Be blessed always
Congratulations to the Dagga Couple, Jeremy Acton and all parties involved for fighting for the rights of people who use the plant. This will reshape the face of Africa, especially for a future-based Hemp economy for manufacturing clothes and other hemp products. You have allowed people which have been prosecuted for the possession or cultivation of cannabis to be exonerated for their “crime”. Thank you for being a voice to the masses who rely on the plant for their health and well-being.
My son was arrested just yesterday for possession and is due to appear in the Roodepoort magistrates court on Tuesday. Are there extenuating circumstances to “all personalised arrests and prosecutions”?
Hi Andrew, sorry we missed this comment. Please contact us via http://www.jointheq.co.za and we will assist you to get a stay in prosecution using the WCHC judgement and pending the outcome of our case in Pretoria. Please don’t delay, we are here to help.
Grateful congratulations to Ras Garreth Price & Jeremy Acton for their landmark victory, and to Judge Dennis Davis for being on our side.