SAHRC seeks clarity for cannabis users still facing trouble with the law

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has come to the defence of cannabis users caught in legislative limbo.

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act the day before the May elections, although a commencement date for the Act has not yet been set.

Sections of the cannabis consuming community claim police continue to harass them, as users believe the use and cultivation of the plant has been legalised.

No stipulation on amounts

An earlier draft of the CPPA included stipulations on the amount of cannabis a user could carry in public or grow in their own homes.

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This section was excluded from the Act signed by the President, leaving a grey area for users as to where their legal rights begin and end.

“The prescribed amounts were removed due to there being no constitutional basis for limiting what personal use may look like. It is important to note that users all have different needs,” Cannabis activist and industry legal expert Leela Baer told The Citizen earlier this year.  

Baer said that robust discussion was needed on the regulations of the act and that other bills on the commercialisation and industrialisation of the industry needed to be formulated.

SAHRC promotes leniency

The SAHRC asserted that a police directive issued in August stipulated that adults suspected of dealing cannabis should not be arrested as the amounts have not been legally defined.

The commission has also written to senior police management and the National Prosecuting Authority seeking clarity on the matter.

Agreeing that a framework needs to be defined, the SAHRC asked government to finalise the regulations and commencement of the act in line with the input of the Rastafari community.  

“Making assumptions about dealing is inconsistent with both the law and national operational directives,” SAHRC stated.

“Such arrests or prosecutions could lead to human rights violations being perpetrated by law enforcement,” the commission concluded.

Some carrying up to 2kgs

Cannabis activist and legal professional Gareth Prince relayed that he had dealt with up to 10 cases in recent months where people were arrested for carrying cannabis, reported the Daily Maverick.

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Prince admitted that the amounts being carried ranged from 200 grams to two kilograms of the substance, whereafter some suspects were held for 48 hours before being released without appearing in court.

“The reason why we complain to the SAHRC is because of flagrant and blatant ignorance of the law on the part of the police, and at times deliberate violations of the new police directive as the law after the Constitutional Court judgment,” said the Rastafari activist.  

Cannabis dispensaries

Cannabis outlets have become increasingly popular at retail malls, but police issued a statement in November detailing the permitters that they are required to operate within.

“Any person who imports or manufactures a CBD-containing medicine in accordance with the exclusion notice must still be in possession of a licence issued in terms of section 22C(1)(b) of the Medicines Act,” police said.

They reminded users that dealing in cannabis was a serious criminal offence in terms of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.

Police said they would act against any outlet not operating within the law, “not only against businesses that sell cannabis illegally, but also against the customers who buy these products.”

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