A state advocate has been asked to justify the criminalising of dagga in a court case seeking to have the prohibition of cannabis declared unconstitutional.

Rastafarian lawyer Garreth Prince and the Dagga Party brought the issue before the High Court in Cape Town on Tuesday‚ arguing that cannabis should not be a prohibited substance listed in the Drugs and Trafficking Act.

They provided the court with reports and articles by commissions of inquiry on the benefits of cannabis but state advocate Thomas Bokaba described their evidence as weak.

Judge Dennis Davis told Bokaba on Wednesday that the state should produce concrete opposition to the scientific evidence and benefits laid out before court.

"You did not put out any contradictory evidence‚'' Davis said. "You have to show why the state is justified in the approach it takes''.

Bokaba argued that the Dagga Party and Prince were relying on their personal use and experience of dagga.

He said that current legislation was consistent with the Constitution and prohibition was the best way to curtail the trade of dagga from South Africa - a major source of the global cannabis market.

Davis pressed the state to show that the criminalisation of dagga was justified‚ and asked if South Africa should be stuck in a binary situation or follow international norms towards allowing the use of cannabis.

The judge added that there was evidence to show that there were better ways to deal with the issue than impose a complete ban on usage.

Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton argued on Tuesday that prisoners with cannabis-related convictions should be released.

Prince argued that cannabis did not belong among prohibited substances. "This is an equality issue. Cannabis should be treated the same as alcohol and tobacco‚" he said.

The case continues.

TMG Digital/Sunday Times