In a victory for marijuana users across South Africa, ConCourt has officially legalised dagga use in a private capacity. The judgement was made just after 10:15 on Tuesday morning.

Legal marijuana: Dagga consumption given the green light

The Western Cape High Court sensationally ruled that dagga should be legalised for home use in 2017. However, the state appealed this decision, putting it on the backburner for another year.

SA’s Constitutional Court has now handed down its own decision, which should be the final say in the matter: Forget 4/20, it looks like 9/18 will be a more significant number for South African smokers now.

The Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of private use of #dagga. It will not be a criminal offence — Lauren Paris (@laurenparis19) September 18, 2018

Raymond Zondo with the final say

The judgement was delivered by none other than Deputy Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo. He’s also the head of the state capture inquiry, and his day doesn’t end with this: Mr Zondo will be attending the commission’s hearing on Tuesday, where ABSA representatives are expected to testify.

Needless to say, the verdict went down very well in the public chambers:

#Dagga Zondo says this is a unanimous judgement, loud cheers are erupting inside the court as Justice Zondo is going through the judgement. — KhayelihleKhumalo (@KhayaJames) September 18, 2018

Dagga in South Africa laws: How it will work

The government now has 24 months to officially write this bill into law. However, private use does have the go-ahead as of Tuesday 18 September. Zondo clarified that it is now up to the ruling ANC to decide what quantities are allowed per person, and it must strictly be based on “personal use”:

“The judgement doesn’t specify the amount that can be used by an adult in private use – this must be determined by parliament. It must be for the personal use of the person.”

The official status for dagga is that it is now “decriminalised”. However, dealing marijuana, selling it on to others or smoking it outside the confines of your own home remains an illegal practice.

The official line is that adults are allowed to grow, use and cultivate the substance on their own property. Everything else – including the potential for sin taxes plus the “where and when” of how users can buy dagga – must be outlined by government.