The party is arguing that sections of the Criminal Prohibition of Dagga Act are unconstitutional.

The Dagga Party has called for marijuana related convictions to be declared invalid.

The party is arguing that sections of the Criminal Prohibition of Dagga Act are unconstitutional.

The matter is being heard in the Western Cape High Court.

The party’s Jeremey Acton says, “Obviously if a person is up for murder and cannabis we are not talking about them being freed for the murder side of things. It’s only about taking away the cannabis prosecution and jail time.”

Acton has also called for public spaces to be made available for cannabis smokers.

While the use of dagga is illegal in South Africa‚ products containing the drug for medicinal purposes are starting to mushroom. But most of these are illegal‚ said the Medicines Control Council.

The Department of Health is working to have dagga legally recognised as a prescription drug under controlled circumstances and permits to cultivate and supply the drug are likely to be issued only in the first half of next year.

Medicine containing marijuana is still illegal in South Africa.

But some products are already on the market and the latest to go on sale in the country are Rick Simpson’s Oil and Charlotte’s Web‚ two organic solutions that contain THC‚ the psychoactive ingredient in dagga.

South Africa may legally regulate medical cannabis as soon as April 2017.

The South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health has said that the government will amend the Medicines and Related Substances Act 1965 (MRS Act). Under the reformed legislation, cannabis – known locally as “dagga” - will be downgraded from a banned Schedule 7 drug to a Schedule 6 drug, meaning it can be prescribed. The revision of the law is to be drafted by late January 2017 and may be implemented by April 2017, according to South Africa’s News24.

It was with a measure of surprise I received word that the Medicines Control Council (MCC) declared a desire to reschedule cannabis from a schedule 7 to schedule 6 drug this week during portfolio hearings in Parliament on the Medical Innovation Bill (MIB).

Looking at the big picture of the last apartheid laws still left in place (the 1992 Drugs & Drug Trafficking Act and the 1965 Medicines Control Act), the rescheduling of anything is a seismic step from a policy that has been enthusiastically and heavily policed for a hundred years. 

Onto South Africa now…The decriminalization of marijuana could contribute to improved public health. That’s according to the country’s Central Drug Authority. The Authority argues in their medical journal that criminalization has had little impact on how people use the drug. But opponents fear crime connected to drug abuse and marijuana users graduating to harder drugs. CCTV’s Yolisa Njamela has the story

Recent research from South Africa has highlighted the potential cannabis has to treat cervical cancer, a disease that kills over a quarter of a million women annually. This latest study was not conducted on humans, but is the first of it’s kind and shows promising results.

THE British parliamentary report in favour of legalising cannabis for medical purposes, and the decision of some states in the US to make it legal to smoke it, raises the question: why don’t we follow the Colorado example? After all, we are renowned for growing the best stuff.

It is four years since Colorado voters decided 55%-45% to legalise marijuana, allowing adults to possess, sell and cultivate limited amounts. The referendum was close and aroused passionate argument.

An unexpected figure is about to get involved in the so called #DaggaSpringbok saga – the leader of the Dagga Party of South Africa (DPSA)

How the world still dearly loves a ranking system. Each week, we rank something from the world of pop culture in a totally objective, not to be questioned, absolutely definitive manner. It could be anything from the best Kanye West songs to the worst nightmares we’ve had from Nic Cage characters. Or it could be – as it is this week – the top five celebrity strains of marijuana.

There’s a huge buzz around the weed industry, and celebrities are cashing in. With legalization increasing across North America, musicians, artists and even reality stars are launching their own cannabis lines. Here are our five favourite endorsements:

5. Die Antwoord