CORRESPONDENCE| VOLUME 393, ISSUE 10183, P1804-1805, MAY 04, 2019
Charles Parry > Bronwyn Myers > Jonathan Caulkins
Published:May 04, 2019DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30011-X
A South African Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling in September, 2018, upheld and extended the Western Cape High Court judgment, which found the criminalisation of home use and cultivation of cannabis by adults, as specified in the Drugs Act of 1992 and the Medicines Act of 1965, unconstitutional.
1 Deputy Chief Justice Zondo stated that it will not be a criminal offence for an adult to use or be in possession of cannabis in a private place, although the amount a person can be in possession of will need to be decided by parliament.
1This is probably a sound legal decision. Furthermore, imposing criminal penalties—as opposed to just fines or other civil penalties—appears to be ineffective at reducing demand and can waste state resources.
2 The initial judgement and its confirmation by the ConCourt, however, does not promote the legalisation of cannabis use, and it does not affect laws governing the trading, use, or possession of cannabis in public.
Although various countries or subregions
3 have decriminalised cannabis use with mainly positive consequences, South Africa is the first country in Africa to have done so. South Africa has high levels of unemployment, a conducive climate for growing cannabis, a problematic level of respect for the law and weaknesses in law enforcement, and a fragile health system. The main concerns with this ConCourt judgment are that, in this context, it will lead to an increase in illegal cannabis growing (beyond private use) and illegal trading of cannabis. These factors could result in more people, including adolescents, using cannabis and thus more people developing cannabis dependence syndrome and having adverse health consequences, such as impaired psychosocial and brain development, mental health and respiratory problems, and increased risk of motor vehicle crashes and cardiovascular disease.
4 These potential health consequences will occur at a population level and put further pressure on already overextended health and social service sectors. To mitigate negative consequences, shifting financial savings from arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating private users of cannabis to the health and social sectors should be prioritised.
Decriminalisation of the private use and growing of cannabis is also likely to strengthen calls for full legalisation. However, once for-profit companies enter the market, decriminalisation could lead to increased access to cannabis products in all communities, aggressive marketing, a fall in cannabis prices, development of high-potency cannabis, and possibly an increase in the ingestion of even higher-potency cannabis extracts, with escalating individual and public health consequences.
5
We declare no competing interests.
References
-
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince; National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others v Rubin; National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others v Acton and Others.http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2018/30.htmlDate: Sept 18, 2018Date accessed: October 10, 2018
-
How well do international drug conventions protect public health?.
Lancet. 2012; 379: 84-91
-
Cannabis decriminalization: a study of recent policy change in five U.S. states.
Int J Drug Policy. 2018; 59: 67-75
-
Adverse health effects of non-medical cannabis use.
Lancet. 2009; 374: 1383-1391
-
Can we make cannabis safer?.
Lancet Psychiatry. 2017; 4: 643-648
Article Info
Publication History
Published: 04 May 2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
