You can’t legalise cannabis for private use and criminalise selling it, says farming group
The Southern Africa Agricultural Initiative rejects Cannabis Bill in its current form, calls government out for criminalising sales
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Four years ago, when the Constitutional Court decriminalised the use and cultivation of dagga in a private space, the court also provided Parliament a 24-month period in which they could amend the relevant laws. Decriminalising the private adult use of dagga signalled the beginning of a new industry that could bring the ailing South African economy to new highs, but four years later, government doesn’t seem to care. The Southern Africa Agricultural Initiative (SAAI) has opposed some of the elements in the Cannabis Bill. The organisation, which describes itself as a group that protects the rights and interests of family farmers, have highlighted the same elements that critics have argued stifle profitability in the sector, particularly that of rural farmers.
