Read: It is now (almost) legal

Read: It is now (almost) legal to use Dagga in your home, High Court rules.

Lighters up?

Read: It is now (almost) legal

While the country is caught up in full Cabinet Reshuffle madness, this morning the Western Cape High Court passed a landmark ruling. The court declared that it is an “infringement to ban the use of dagga by adults in private homes.”

Yip, that’s right, the ruling means that the possession, cultivation and use of dagga at home for private use, is now allowed. The court also ruled that Parliament has 24 months to change certain sections of the Drug Trafficking Act, as well as the Medicines Control Act.

News24 reports that the application to decriminalise dagga was brought to the court by Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton and Rastafarian Garreth Prince. The pair argued to the court on December 13th and 14th last year in favour of the drug’s decriminalisation. Aside from Acton and Prince 18 other plaintiffs applied to the court to have certain sections of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, declared unconstitutional.

Those specific sections make it a crime to possess a drug, unless it is for certain legitimate medical reasons. Prince and Acton argued the current laws banning dagga use are outdated, discriminatory and unfair. They also stated that these laws are applied disproportionately to black users.

Prince was previously arrested for possession of dagga while he was a law student in 1989. He was released after paying a R60 fine, later he found out that he was unable to join the bar to be admitted as an attorney, because of that dagga conviction.

Of course, South Africans online saw the funny side.

Weed smoking South Africans have been coming out of the woodwork fast since this judgement. Interesting…