The dagga saga is set to drag on for a while.
The state has appealed the Cape Town High Court ruling that the cultivation and private use of dagga should be legalised.
Papers were filed by the National Director of Public Prosecutions and several other government departments this week.
The state said that it did not want any of the current legislation around the use of dagga to be changed or amended.
It also claimed that the court erred in “characterising and formulating the issues before it”.
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“The High Court ignored the case presented by the respondents and concentrated on the right to privacy only‚ despite the right not being pertinently raised by the respondents‚” it said.
On March 31 a full bench found that the criminalisation of dagga was unconstitutional. The case was brought to court by Rastafarian activist Gareth Prince and the Dagga Party.
In its judgment the court found that the ban on the personal use of dagga by adults in their homes was an infringement of the constitutional right to privacy.
The court gave Parliament 24 months to amend the Drugs and Trafficking Act and Medicines and Related Substance Control Act and bring it in line with the Constitution.
Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton said that the appeal by the state was expected and that it would give the pro-dagga lobbyists an opportunity to appeal for further reforms in the legislation.
“We knew they would appeal‚” Acton said. “This gives us a right to cross appeal with them having played their hand first‚ and we can then ask for more in our cross appeal.
“But our main concern is that this appeal is going to give the police more carte blanche [to arrest people] in the interim.”
Constitutional law expert and Professor Emeritus at UNISA Sharack Gutto‚ said that while the court order stood‚ the use of dagga remained illegal until it is ratified by the Constitutional Court and put into law by Parliament.
“It has left the space open until there is a ruling by the constitutional court or any legislative action taken by parliament. It is very difficult to say that people can continue to use dagga. It remains illegal for the moment.”
Gutto said that an urgent application to the Constitutional Court to clarify the matter was required before Parliament can deal with it.
“The legislation adopted by Parliament can then go for review by the Constitutional Court to see if it holds up‚” said Gutto.
TMG Digital
Dagga - round two as state decides to appeal landmark ruling
The dagga saga is set to drag on for a while.
The state has appealed the Cape Town High Court ruling that the cultivation and private use of dagga should be legalised.
Papers were filed by the National Director of Public Prosecutions and several other government departments this week.
The state said that it did not want any of the current legislation around the use of dagga to be changed or amended.
It also claimed that the court erred in “characterising and formulating the issues before it”.
“The High Court ignored the case presented by the respondents and concentrated on the right to privacy only‚ despite the right not being pertinently raised by the respondents‚” it said.
On March 31 a full bench found that the criminalisation of dagga was unconstitutional. The case was brought to court by Rastafarian activist Gareth Prince and the Dagga Party.
In its judgment the court found that the ban on the personal use of dagga by adults in their homes was an infringement of the constitutional right to privacy.
The court gave Parliament 24 months to amend the Drugs and Trafficking Act and Medicines and Related Substance Control Act and bring it in line with the Constitution.
Dagga Party leader Jeremy Acton said that the appeal by the state was expected and that it would give the pro-dagga lobbyists an opportunity to appeal for further reforms in the legislation.
“We knew they would appeal‚” Acton said. “This gives us a right to cross appeal with them having played their hand first‚ and we can then ask for more in our cross appeal.
“But our main concern is that this appeal is going to give the police more carte blanche [to arrest people] in the interim.”
Constitutional law expert and Professor Emeritus at UNISA Sharack Gutto‚ said that while the court order stood‚ the use of dagga remained illegal until it is ratified by the Constitutional Court and put into law by Parliament.
“It has left the space open until there is a ruling by the constitutional court or any legislative action taken by parliament. It is very difficult to say that people can continue to use dagga. It remains illegal for the moment.”
Gutto said that an urgent application to the Constitutional Court to clarify the matter was required before Parliament can deal with it.
“The legislation adopted by Parliament can then go for review by the Constitutional Court to see if it holds up‚” said Gutto.
TMG Digital
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