Green light for green leaves

MOKOPANE – Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo ruled on Tuesday, 18 September: ‘It will not be a criminal offence for an adult person to use or be in possession of cannabis in private space.” Since this ruling was made there is various controversy from the public.

Bosveld talked to businessmen and principals in Mokopane to hear what their take is on this verdict is.

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Andy Goetsch, President of the Mokopane Business Chamber, said the legalisation of the private use of cannabis has many implications. “It’s a known fact that many hard drug users started off by using cannabis and this will lead to more people going over to hard drugs which are already a major problem. The fact that many people use cannabis for medical purposes was the motivation to legalise cannabis for private use, but the quality of these home-brewed medicines vary from okay to very bad. Legalising cannabis will not solve this problem. To solve this problem they should have let chemists sell well-prepared cannabis medicines with a prescription and the quality could be controlled.”

Goetsch also said it is not easy to test the amount of cannabis in a person who is driving a vehicle as with alcohol. “Therefore we could have many more drivers on our roads under the influence causing even more accidents than we already have. I do not think that this process was properly investigated before the law was changed.”

Jimmy Steele, Principal of Hoërskool Piet Potgieter, says the decision that the Constitution Court made to legalise the use of cannabis in private will not affect the school. “Our code of conduct is in place and it is clear that no drugs are allowed on the school’s grounds.”

Gert Moolman, Principal and Owner of Educor SA, says the state has made a mistake to legalise the private use of cannabis. “I foresee big problems will stem from this decision. It’s legal for a child to smoke at 16 and to drink at 18, now it’s legal to use drugs where will it all end.”

Moolman says cannabis delays your neurons to save information from your short-term to your long-term memory. “If a child smokes at home before he gets to school, that child will not take anything in class. This is a big concern for me.”

The administrator of the Facebook page Medi Jane believes it is the best decision that the Constitutional Court could made.

“The decision was very necessary and the plant is not harmful. The medicinal use of cannabis is not even debilitating and has infinite benefits. The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) stated in a media statement that they welcome the decision of the Constitutional Court and the court give Parliament two years to amend the relevant legislation on possession of the substance.

Kelebogile Leepile, Media contact of the IRR said: “This decision is an important step in affirming the rights of individuals to make decisions on issues that affect them and their lives.

Leepile said: “The Constitutional Court ruling on the use of cannabis is the thin edge of the liberty wedge, which makes South Africans freer. However, the ruling will be fairly meaningless if the country continues to erode property and other rights and fails to trust South Africans to make their own decisions on important choices.”

Doctors For Life International (DFL) is against this verdict and is disappointed with the judgment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. According to DFL is cannabis a harmful psychoactive drug. The scientific research points to massive ignorance of the known dangers. DFL believes this is sending South Africa down the wrong path. We have opened up a can of worms.

Less than a handful of countries, such as Canada and Uruguay, have legalised the drug for recreational use. It is at best an experiment at the expense of the lives of our youth. In the statement DFL stated that what people do with Cannabis in the privacy of their homes is relevant to the whole of society.

The latest 2018 data shows that since recreational cannabis was legalised in Colorado a state in the USA, cannabis related traffic deaths increased by 151%. The semi-long-term effects of Cannabis can last up to 21 days after ingestion.

DFL also stated that the decision will have disastrous consequences for the youth. It will be virtually impossible to prevent children from being exposed to the smoking of cannabis and its detrimental health consequences.

The annual rate of emergency department visits related to cannabis use has increased 52% and related cannabis hospitalizations increased by 148% since the legalisation of recreational cannabis.

The DFL wants to emphasize the harms and implications that legalising cannabis use will cause, even if it is used in private. The evidence clearly demonstrates that marijuana is harmful to both the individual and society.

The Court’s decision disregards the pain experienced by so many families who have lost a loved one due to drug abuse “in the privacy of their homes.”

redaksie.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za