New high unrolls for dagga users

It is high times for dagga users, who may now be permitted to transport small quantities of dagga on domestic commercial airline flights around SA.

This consent is given under the heading “Possible Scenarios: Passengers flying on commercial airliner with small amounts of cannabis” and printed in a recently released SAPS memorandum around dagga use.

The memorandum, which outlines revised dagga laws in the wake of the Constitutional Court’s landmark ruling in September around the private use of dagga, has now lifted much of the haze around law enforcement of the plant and its use.

The document, which also describes new police policy with respect to how dagga-related cases should be policed, was signed off by national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole on January 22.

The most important take-outs from the SAPS memorandum include:

● Dagga use is strictly confined to use by adults (18+) who may cultivate or use the plant in privacy only.

In addition, privacy is not confined to a home, but usage or cultivation is only permitted under conditions of privacy;

● Dealing in dagga was not decriminalised in the court ruling and remains a criminal offence;

● Police officials have been instructed to use their discretion when determining whether the quantity of dagga encountered would constitute personal use or dealing;

● Possession of dagga in a public place, as long as the possession is in private, such as in a pocket or a bag or vehicle, is permitted.

This includes a person found walking with dagga for personal use on his/her person;

● While not permitted on an international flight, and according to the SAPS document, “provided the quantity of cannabis is small and based on all the circumstances in the specific matter, including the concealment of the cannabis in a bag or luggage of a passenger, possession for personal consumption by an adult passenger on a domestic flight is permitted”;

● Possession or use of dagga by an SAPS member is still considered “unacceptable conduct”.

The memorandum was put into the public domain by nonprofit organisation Fields of Green for All.

It is one of the activist organisations, led by the country’s so-called Dagga Couple, which fought for the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

The organisation confirmed with The Herald on Sunday that the document was legitimate and Nelson Mandela Bay metro police confirmed they

were in possession of the memorandum.

While numerous aspects of dagga legislation must now be revised by parliament, police nationally and the metro police in the Bay are expected to follow the stipulations contained in Sitole’s memorandum.

This was confirmed by Bay metro police chief Yolanda Faro on Sunday.

She said her organisation, which was established under the auspices of SAPS legislation, would conform to the memorandum and would address dagga-related cases accordingly.

The memorandum came to light as prosecutors in Port Elizabeth last week withdrew two local cases involving the cultivation and use of dagga in privacy.

This was based on the court’s ruling that laws prohibiting the cultivation and use of the plant by adults in private, among other findings, was unconstitutional.

And while police at national headquarters are yet to respond to media inquiries around the policing of dagga, Faro told The Herald that the metro police were in possession of the memorandum and were acting accordingly.

Asked what changes had been experienced in the general dagga landscape in the Bay in the wake of the court rulings, Faro said nothing out of the ordinary had been noted.

“While it is too early to tell exactly what has transpired since the ruling, I can tell you that as yet, we have not noticed anything remarkable,” she said.

“There has been no major spike in usage, arrests or busts that we have noted. So, the situation around dagga locally has been pretty static.

“However, we do quarterly and biannual assessments of our work and the environment in which we work, so I expect that in time we will be able to provide a full, more accurate picture.”

Dagga litigation specialist attorney Ricky Stone, a director at Port Elizabeth firm Boqwana Burns, said on Friday that the court ruling, and more specifically the findings around rights to privacy in relation to dagga use, had been extremely clear.

“There are, however, elements around dagga usage which still require decisions and clarity,” Stone said.

“These include what quantities could be defined as reasonable for private use.”

Stone said one of the most important effects of the ruling was that the “burden of proof” with respect to dagga usage had now shifted to the state.

Stone, who had earlier noted that he believed the withdrawal of charges related to private-use dagga was starting in courts country-wide, said he was dealing with three related cases dealing with quantities.