Cannabis — South Africa

An adult may use and possess cannabis in private in South Africa — the Constitutional Court struck the ban down in 2018 and the government confirms it has not been a criminal offence since — but buying and selling it is still a crime, so there is no lawful way to get any. No quantity limit is in force: the Act that would set one has been signed but has not commenced, and its proposed limits are still only a draft. The protection is also narrower than it sounds, because what the Court decriminalised is use or possession by an adult in private for personal consumption in private. Anything outside that is still punished under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act by up to 15 years, a fine, or both, and dealing carries up to 25 years, for which that Act allows no fine-only sentence.

Dealing in cannabis remains a serious criminal offence, and the private-use protection does not make buying, selling, supplying a child, or carrying cannabis through an airport lawful. Cannabis (dagga) is still listed in Part III of Schedule 2 to the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 as an undesirable dependence-producing substance, because the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act that would delete it has not commenced. Dealing is punished under section 17(e) by imprisonment of up to 25 years, and that paragraph allows only imprisonment, or imprisonment together with a fine, so there is no fine-only sentence for dealing. Use or possession falling outside the private adult personal-use carve-out is punished under section 17(d) by up to 15 years, a fine, or both.

Verified Sep 9, 2026