An Eastern Cape government department is calling for the unconditional release of everyone jailed for dealing in or possession of cannabis and also the general decriminalisation of the plant.
The provincial department of rural development & agrarian reform’s director of research and technological development Dr Mfundo Maqhubela, speaking on behalf of the provincial government and stakeholders, was addressing the justice and constitutional development portfolio committee during a three-day session in parliament on the proposed cannabis for private purpose bill.
LISTEN | Daron Mann discusses the widespread calls to legalise the use and commercialisation of cannabis in South Africa.
The bill regulates the use and possession of cannabis and the cultivation of the plants by an adult for personal use.
The parties warned of the disadvantages the restrictions in access to cannabis have imposed on rural communities while enriching big corporates which extract the plant’s medicinal properties.
In September 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional the prohibition of the personal use and cultivation of cannabis, by adults, in private spaces.
Maqhubela submitted: “The proposed bill in its current form excludes any person who does not have access to a private space to cultivate cannabis, from access to cannabis.
“There is a considered view that this is unconstitutional as it prevents a considerable portion of the SA population who live in informal settlements or high-density areas from being able to cultivate cannabis and therefore a legal means to obtain cannabis.
“It also fails to make provision for how people can access seed to cultivate cannabis.”
He argued that the bill served to effectively criminalise traditional healing, adding that the suggested small quantities for cultivation and storage for personal use were inadequate for traditional healers as they used cannabis for professional purposes to assist their clients, as directed by the amakhosi, their ancestors, in the privacy of their homes.
“SA is home to distinctive and world-famous strains such as “Mpondo Gold”, “Transkei Gold”, “Rooibaard”,“Swazi Gold”, and “Durban Poison” that have emerged and have been conserved by traditional farmers.
“These genetics are naturalised, drought-tolerant and should form the basis of our cannabis research and industry.
“These strains represent important intellectual property and plant breeders’ rights that the cannabis bill, as a matter of urgency, should seek to protect as part of our cannabis heritage.”
The Cannabis Development Council of SA (CDCSA) said the Constitutional Court judgment of 2018 finally catapulted SA into a position that no other government in the world had been in before.
The CDCSA represents civil society in lobbying parliament and government on the health and socio-economic benefits of cannabis.
Presenting for the council, the CDCSA’s Gareth Prince said the judgment allowed SA to become a world leader and innovator, while empowering the people.
“But it would seem our legislature and executive wants us to be followers as opposed to leaders, and imitators instead of innovators.
“The current cannabis bill is fragmented while the law requires it to be holistic.
“The legislature, by virtue of its constitutional duty to prepare a law of general application must paint with broad strokes, not the narrow ones they used to draft the bill,” Prince said.
He said the bill impacted negatively on people’s rights to equality, dignity, freedom and privacy in that it still proposed to use the criminal penal code to regulate cannabis.
“We call for the expansion of the Constitutional Court ruling based on the right to privacy, to include the ability to cultivate, extract, process, manufacture and sell cannabis-based products for recreational use, along the same lines that alcohol and tobacco are regulated.
“The recreational cannabis market is a massive potential revenue generator for the fiscus while simultaneously positioning us to get ahead of the substance abuse concern,” he said.
Traditional Healers Organisation spokesperson Beauty Mohlatlole said: “The traditional medicines trade is huge and growing, generating billions of rand per annum.”
Cannabis and Hemp Consortium provincial chair Phumza Vitshima said the regulations and restrictions on cannabis would not benefit the rural poor.
She said the 2018 court ruling only allowed for cannabis consumption.
“We want it for commercialisation because big corporates are already displaying cannabis oil which was produced illegally.
“There have to be additions for the commercial benefit of the rural poor in the bill before it is passed into law,” she said.
Justice portfolio committee chair Gratitude Magwanishe said the presentations and submissions still had a long way to go before a decision was taken.
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.