The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services invites the public to comment on the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill.
Please read the penalties, limits on possession, cultivation quantities and dealing/trafficking at the summary link below.
8452 participants (closed 30 November).
[CLOSED] Have your say – shape this policy.
IN THE MEDIA
- CapeTalk (listen) – Cannabis Bill: deadline for comment extended (guest, Rob Hutchinson)
- EWN – CANNABIS BILL: DEADLINE FOR COMMENT EXTENDED
- M&G – Cannabis bill carries harsh penalties
- BusinessTech – Here are the new cannabis rules proposed for South Africa – including limits, penalties and criminal records
- BusinessInsider – It’s official: Cabinet wants to let you have 1.2kg of dagga at home – if you don’t live alone
- Cannabis is defined as anything containing the psychoactive THC (including vaping of cannabis-derived liquids).
- a maximum jail term of 15 years for anyone who deals in cannabis, or provides it to a child.
- Anyone who smokes cannabis in public, or too close to a window, or “in the immediate presence of any non-consenting adult person” may be jailed for up to two years.
- Smoking around children can result in up to four years in jail.
Legal limits for personal, legal use at home are set to:
- unlimited for seeds and seedlings
- four flowering plants for those living alone, or eight for homes with two adults or more
- 600 grams of dried cannabis if you live alone, or 1.2 kilograms in homes with two or more adults.
- In public places, possession is set to 100 grams of cannabis or one flowering plant.
For purposes of exchange between individuals (no remuneration involved) limits are set to:
- 30 seeds or seedlings, or a mixture of the two
one flowering plant - 100 grams of dry cannabis.
The purpose of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill [B19 – 2020] is to:
- Respect the right to privacy of an adult person to possess cannabis plant cultivation material; to cultivate a prescribed quantity of cannabis plants; possess a prescribed quantity of cannabis; and to smoke and consume cannabis;
- Regulate the possession of cannabis plant cultivation material; the cultivation of cannabis plants; the possession of cannabis; and the smoking and consumption of cannabis by an adult person;
- Protect adults and children against the harms of cannabis;
- Provide for the expungement of criminal records of persons convicted of possession or use of cannabis;
- Delete and amend provisions of certain laws; and
- Provide for matters connected therewith.
DOWNLOAD DOCUMENTS
ENABLING YOU TO SHAPE GOVERNMENT POLICY
Dear South Africa is a legally recognised and constitutionally protected non-profit platform which enables the public to co-shape all government policies, amendments and proposals. We’ve run many successful campaigns and have amassed a considerably large active participant network of over 750,000 individuals across the country and beyond.
We do not run petitions. We run legally recognised public participation processes which allow citizens to co-form policy at all levels of governance. Whereas petitions, even if they contain thousands of signatures, are considered as a single submission by government, our process ensures that each comment made through dearparliament.co.za is recognised and counted as an individual submission by government.
Furthermore, we keep an accurate record of all participation and produce a publicly available report at the end of each project. This report forms the foundation of a sound legal case should the necessity to challenge the decision arise.
Participation costs you NOTHING, and is so easy and quick to do through the platform that you really have no excuse not to help shape policy BEFORE it becomes law. Legally challenging implemented law is costly and rarely successful. Prevention is better than cure.
Participation in decision-making processes means a possibility for citizens, civil society organisations and other interested parties to influence the development of policies and laws which affect them. We’ve made it easy for you as a responsible citizen of South Africa, to influence government decisions before they are made.