Updated: 14/07/21
The draft cannabis law is for South Africa has been published a couple months earlier than parliament required. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill is the successor to the Regulation of Cannabis Bill of 2018. The bill essentially decrimaises cannabis in South Africa. Below is a list of the key points found in the Bill. Here is a download link for the full version of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill.
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 – as long as there is absolutely 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 Bill set a maximum jail term of 15 years for anyone who deals in cannabis, or provides it to a child.
Anyone who smokes dagga 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 dagga around children, on the other hand, can come with up to four years in jail.
Cannabidiol ( CBD )
In May of 2019, the Department of Health resheduled cannabidiol as a Schedule 4 drug for a further year. The law has been renewed in 2020 and limits
- Any CBD products in the market may only contain a maximum daily dose of 20 milligrams (mg) or less.
- CBD products can’t claim to cure or treat any specific condition.