Concourt hears dagga appeal
‘I get prosecuted for planting one of the country’s biggest resources’
TOUGH questions are being asked about the dynamics of legalising cannabis as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) seeks to repeal the ruling which permitted use of the herb.
Should people be allowed to smoke cannabis in the privacy of their homes? If yes, how will they be protected from being targeted by police officers when they procure the cannabis?
These are some of the questions the Constitutional Court justices had to contend with yesterday when hearing about the use of cannabis for cultural, religious, medical and recreational purposes.
The NPA and six government departments including police, health, and trade and industry brought the matter to the Concourt in an effort to appeal an order by the Western Cape High Court allowing people to smoke cannabis in their homes.
Gerald Prince argued that though the Western Cape order allowed him to smoke cannabis in his home, it still made him a target for the police.
“Even when I am allowed to smoke in my home, I am not allowed to cultivate it. I get prosecuted for planting one of the country’s biggest resources.
“This order still allows me to be victimised. The high that the criminal justice system poses to me is more harmful than cannabis.”
Prince argued that cannabis was not banned because of health issues, otherwise other substances like cigarettes and alcohol would also be outlawed.
“It is common cause that cigarettes are the number one killer. The state allows you the right to drink yourself to death and to smoke yourself to cancer, so they should also allow us to smoke cannabis. Equality demands it,” argued Prince, who was representing himself.
To prove the point, members of the Rastafarian community sang and lit up joints outside the court – an act that, according to Counsel for the State Advocate Thomas Bokaba, places a huge burden on the health system.
“It has also been linked to crime and domestic violence. Cannabis is different from the other substances in that it affects the brain. It causes psychosis and schizophrenia, especially in young people.”
Bokaba added that unlike with other substances, it is also hard to regulate the potency of cannabis.
Dagga Party founder Jeremy Acton said the right to smoke cannabis at home infringed on his rights of association.
“This doesn’t allow me to integrate with society like someone who smokes cigarettes. It prevents me from relating with other adults,” Acton said.
He also argued that he could be targeted by police while going out to buy the cannabis to consume at home. “My rights are only protected when I am at home and not in my car or if the police search me,” he told the court.
Also part of the case were the so-called “dagga couple” Myrtle Clarke and Julian Stobbs. They have a case in the Pretoria High Court calling for the legalisation of cannabis.
Their case has been postponed, waiting for the decision of the Concourt case.
The judgment was reserved.