Cannabis Has Its Day In Constitutional Court
Cannabis finally had its day in the Constitutional Court following years of legal battles across the country. It was a day of highs and lows, but mostly lows for the State and Doctors For Life.

The Constitutional Court sat today to either validate or veto the unanimous Cape Town High Court ruling made earlier this year in favor of cannabis legalisation in South Africa. In the groundbreaking High Court ruling, Judge Dennis Davis found that the prohibition of the plant and its use was at the very least an invasion of personal privacy, and therefore infringed on these constitutional protected rights. The court ordered that the South African government formulate a legal framework to accommodate cannabis demand and supply. The ruling was relatively broad though and it was almost certain that the State would object this ruling, eventually escalating the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Significant weight has been added due to the non-profit company Fields of Green For ALL and leaders from the Khoi Khoi, Griqua and Auni nations intervening in support of the case, while Doctor’s For Life had unsurprisingly joined the State in opposition to any form of legalisation or decriminilisation.

Although the Constitutional Court has previously ruled against legalisation, their previous finding was that the parameters of the application sought then were too narrow and restrictive in that it would only really legalise cannabis for use in a traditional use context, primarily for Rastafarians. The scope of the current case before the court is however much wider and is practically a blank cheque for the judges to order whatever legislation they see fit.