Legal cannabis use in South Africa is still contested. The Western Cape High Court ruled in March that private use and private cultivation of cannabis in someone’s own home is constitutionally legal. Parliament, however, is still to amend the law.

Also, an ongoing court challenge involving the “Dagga Couple”, Jules Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke, fighting for their unrestricted use of dagga, means legal uncertainty persists.

For Frank L, who opened his business last month, it means he could be shut down. But he’s tired of hiding and tired of waiting for social evolution and the law to catch up with reality.

Reality, as Frank L sees it, is reflected in the fact that in the first month he’s had more than 1,300 people through his doors – it’s literally a growth industry, he figures.

“People just want a place where they smoke that’s a social, chilled, safe space,” says Frank relaxing in the shaded garden.

On the menu are offerings called bliss, pineapple, honeycomb and boss cheese. They’re names for weed that Frank L sells for between R180 and R800 a gram – the bestseller is boss cheese. Dagga dabs, compressed dagga oil smoked with a rig that has a vaping effect, is also popular and so are his dagga muffins.

Inside his establishment the floors are painted like a kiddies’ road-safety traffic park, only the signboards say “Red Light District” and the table tops are decorated in a cannabis theme. There’s a pool table, popcorn machines and a food counter. There’s also a counter selling smoking paraphernalia.

On the darkened loft floor there are sofas and bean bags; UV lights turn coils of rising dagga smoke into the tangle of live serpents on Medusa’s head.

“There are never fights or anything like that,” says one patron, his lids drooping as he sags back into the sofa, and his high. Another customer says she smokes to stave off anxiety.

“I get people from all walks of life in here,” says Frank L. His patrons include a judge, politically connected elite and stockbrokers. There are also students, businessmen on extended lunch breaks and those looking for cannabis to ease medical maladies.

“South Africans have needed a cannabis coffee shop culture for years. This café is just the beginning,” says Frank L, who’s already plotting a second café. The green revolution is coming, it can’t grow in the dark forever.

• This article was originally published in The Times.

BY UFRIEDA HO