Cannabis in South Africa is an indigenous plant with a rich historical, social, and cultural significance for various communities. South Africa’s cannabis policy evolution has been marked by significant shifts, particularly following decriminalisation by the Constitutional Court in 2018, and the passing of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill in May 2024, legalising cannabis for those 18-years-old and above.
Prior to the lifting of the prohibition of cannabis in 2018, advocates pressured the government to amend laws restricting cannabis that were first established in 1922 to allow exceptions for medical use, religious practices, and other purposes. The Afrikaans term commonly used to refer to cannabis is dagga (), derived from the Khoikhoi word , which was adopted by early European colonial settlers in the Dutch Cape Colony.
Cannabis is believed to have been introduced to Africa by early Arab or Indian traders, centuries ago. It was already in widespread use among South Africa's indigenous Khoisan and Bantu peoples before European settlement in the Cape in 1652. Additionally, it was traditionally utilized by Basotho communities to facilitate childbirth. According to author Hazel Crampton, historical Afrikaner recipes for teas and foods incorporated the use of cannabis. The plant's use was primarily associated with traditional African populations and individuals of lower economic status.
Long-term research conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC) indicates that the number of cannabis users in South Africa was 2.2 million in 2004, which increased to 3.2 million by 2008. In 2003, Interpol ranked South Africa as the world's fourth-largest cannabis producer, and the Institute for Security Studies reported that a significant portion of cannabis seized in the United Kingdom, and a third seized globally, originated from South Africa.
History The first written record of the plant in South Africa is by Jan van Riebeeck, who ordered officers of the Voorman to purchase "daccha" in Natal for trade with the Khoikhoi. The Dutch East India Company attempted to establish a monopoly on its sale, and to that end prohibited cultivation of the plant by Cape settlers from 1680. However, the ready availability of cannabis in the wild and through trade with indigenous peoples meant that there was little profit to be made. Consequently, the prohibition was lifted in 1700.
Provincial laws Beginning in 1860, the Natal Colony began to import Indian workers (called "coolies" at the time) to supplement their labour force. These Indians brought with them the habit of consuming cannabis and hashish, which blended with local, extant African traditions. The European authorities were concerned by this practice, believing it sapped the vitality of their workers;"The Weed Edition " News24 23/04/2017. consequently, in 1870, Natal's Coolie Law Consolidation prohibited "the smoking, use, or possession by and the sale, barter, or gift to, any Coolies whatsoever, of any portion of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa)..."
Both the Cape and Transvaal colonies restricted the growth of the plant, which they considered a "noxious weed"; in 1891, the Cape Colony prohibited cannabis under Act 34, and the Free State outlawed dealing in cannabis in 1903. In 1908, Natal began to regulate the sale of cannabis. In the Transvaal, dagga was sold "openly and normally" by storekeepers to miners.
Although white farmers did cultivate cannabis in the 18th century and early 19th century, consumption by the farmers themselves was rare. However, even cultivation fell out of favour later in the 19th century. In 1921, "serious signs of a moral panic focusing around dagga" appeared, centred on the Western Cape. A concern developed about the "'camaraderie' which led some to lay aside race and other prejudices with regard to fellow" drug users.
National laws In 1922, regulations were issued under an amended Customs and Excises Duty Act which criminalised the possession and use of "habit forming drugs", including dagga. Under regulation 14, the cultivation, possession, sale, and use of the plant were prohibited. The burden of proof for any defence against a charge lay with the accused; legal scholar Professor Chanock contrasted this with laws regulating alcohol at the time, which laws placed the burden of proof on the accuser; he reasoned that the cannabis regulations were applied differently because they were intended to target black people.
Following the Fifth Session of the League of Nations Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs, it was at South Africa's wish, expressed by Secretary to the Prime Minister J. C. Van Tyen in 1923, that dagga was included in a list of prohibited narcotics, which list had hitherto been almost entirely concerned with opium and its derivatives. Cannabis was subsequently outlawed internationally in 1925.
Cannabis was wholly criminalised in South Africa in 1928 under the Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy Act, for political and moral reasons. In 1937, the government of South Africa introduced the Weeds Act, which made the occupant or owner of a property accountable for preventing the growth of cannabis, or any other plant classified as a "weed", on the property. Concern about the extent of dagga use in South Africa continued to grow, resulting eventually in the enactment, in 1971, of the Abuse of Dependence-producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act. Under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992, people found in possession of more than 115 grams of dagga were presumed to be guilty of dealing. However, following the adoption of the interim constitution of South Africa, courts found that this unjustifiably infringed the constitutionally enshrined presumption of innocence, and consequently invalidated those parts of the Act.
On 18 September 2018 the South African Constitutional Court decriminalized the use and cultivation of cannabis in a private space, and provided a 24-month period in which the Parliament of South Africa could amend the relevant laws, failing which the court judgement would prevail. Even though private use of cannabis has been decriminalized the buying and selling of cannabis, cannabis oil and cannabis seeds remains illegal.
Cultivation, eradication, and bio-cultural heritage
Cultivation
Cannabis grows well in South Africa's climate, especially in the "dagga belt", an area including the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces where, per the 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, it is a traditional crop. According to GroundUp, cannabis is "an important cash crop" that "sustains entire communities in the rural Eastern Cape", which otherwise survive in a subsistence economy. Rural farmers are typically poor and produce low quality local product that is consumed domestically by the lower class, while middle class growers produce product for the rest of the national and international marijuana market. Most of the national product is consumed domestically or regionally, but increasing amounts are seized in Europe.
In 1996, the Department of Land and Agriculture, the Tobacco and Cotton Research Institute, and the Southern African Hemp Company conducted agricultural research on the viability of farming non-psychoactive hemp strains of the plant in the North West province.
Eradication programs The state conducted cannabis eradication programs since the 1950s. Police initially uprooted dagga plantations and burned the crops but in 1980 switched to using herbicides, which they would dispense with hand-held pumps. By the end of the 1980s, helicopters replaced ground patrols, and helicopter patrols would release herbicides aerially to destroy entire crops in minutes.
In 1990, a coalition of civil society organisations successfully lobbied government in the former Natal province to ban the herbicide paraquat from use in aerial eradication programmes. The South African Police Service (SAPS) now uses a herbicide formulation which includes glyphosate, and maintains that it is safe, posing "no threat to human, animal, or environmental health". However, a new coalition of the non-profit organisations Fields of Green For All and the Amapondo Children’s Project launched legal proceedings in 2016 to stop the SAPS from performing aerial eradications.
Biological and Cultural heritage In South Africa, the third largest centre of biodiversity in the world, a number of Indigenous peoples and local communities have cultivated cannabis for long time and have developed special ties with the plant, including the custodianship of traditional cannabis plant varieties (genetic resources) and associated agricultural or medical skills and know-hows (traditional knowledge) which have been bioprospected for decades.
These elements are today protected against misappropriation and biopiracy by international law, such as the Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity that the country has ratified or the GRATK Treaty signed by South Africa in May 2024.
Biopiracy is an ongoing issue in the country. According to the reform organisation Fields of Green for All:there are cases of international research organisations taking advantage of small scale rural farmers, by exploiting their landrace genetics without adequate compensation or moral recognition.
Medical use In South Africa, medical cannabis products may be prescribed for any health condition, once the presiding physician determines that it could assist in treatment. Patients may request medical cannabis through authorised health practitioners who are licensed by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). The health practitioner must apply online on their patient's behalf to SAHPRA. Once a prescription has been issued to the patient, it can be fulfilled by pharmacists registered with the South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC).
Emerging markets It is estimated that the African cannabis market will grow to be worth $7 bn by 2023, with the main stakeholders being Nigeria with $3.7bn, South Africa $1.7bn, Morocco $900m, Lesotho $90m and Zimbabwe $80m. The potential growth has acted as a motivation for legalization considering the traditionally stagnant economic growth of South Africa. A major driving force in the emerging market is European demand with Germany being the largest cannabis market in Europe.
Local Seed Banks Besides the large overseas market which draws many investors into the new industry, the local South African market is proving to be another avenue for economic growth. The aforementioned plant, locally known as 'dagga', has had a long history in Southern Africa, dating back to the 1500's. This long history of cultivation within the area has led to the plant being socially accepted by many indigenous communities, with its acceptance spreading further within South Africa after the decimalization in 2018. This is clearly seen with the increase in hobby growers and local small-scale farmers who are curious about the plant, and its recently outlawed reputation. Before the decriminalization of Cannabis, procuring the seeds necessary to grow the plant was largely considered illegal and difficult. However, laws allowing people to grow the plant within their own homes as well as the government's mandate to not exclude the poor from the industry, has made the procurement of certified quality seeds a necessity.
Cannabis Clubs