Decriminalising the cannabis sector will boost SA’s economy and will be a step in removing the industry from the control of criminal syndicates, trade union federation Cosatu says.
“The cannabis industry itself has many potential opportunities for the economy. These include its positive contributions for medicinal, clothing, and industrial uses,” Cosatu’s Tony Ehrenreich said on Tuesday during parliament’s public hearings on the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill.
Ehrenreich noted that cannabis is an emerging industry internationally, and if SA does not move to manage it, it will be displaced by cheap imports. He urged the government to quickly ensure that the large-scale commercial production of cannabis is permitted. The size of SA’s commercial cannabis industry is potentially about R30bn and could create as many as 25,000 jobs, according to the government.
Ehrenreich said decriminalising the cannabis sector could also take the industry from the control of criminal syndicates.
“It should help collapse the monopoly and exorbitant prices imposed on addicts that fuel gangs,” he said.
The possession and cultivation of cannabis for private purposes in a private place was legalised by the Constitutional Court in September 2018 on the grounds that its prohibition constituted an impermissible infringement of the right to privacy.
The ruling was suspended for two years to give parliament time to pass a law giving effect to the judgment. However, legislation won't be available by the September 17 deadline, meaning that the court judgment will operate in until the law is promulgated.
Following the ruling, the Department of Justice drafted a Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill in September last year, which is now the subject of public hearings by parliament’s justice and correctional services committee. The bill prescribes the amount of cannabis that can be possessed and cultivated for private use. It doesn’t make provision for the commercialisation of cannabis, however.
Commercialisation of cannabis will require amendments to the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act to align it with the Medicines Act, which governs the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, import, and export of medicines containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis.
In his state of the nation address last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government would formulate policy on the use of cannabis products for medicinal purposes, and open up and regulate the commercial use of hemp products, providing opportunities for small-scale farmers.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development trecently published a Cannabis Master Plan, which proposes legislative measures to lift the restrictions on the commercialisation of cannabis and hemp, a plant classified under the cannabis species. Hemp can be used to make more than 25,000 consumer products, from apparel and accessories to housewares and cosmetics.
The purpose of the master plan is to provide a framework for the development and growth of the SA cannabis industry to contribute to economic development, job creation, rural development and poverty alleviation.
Ehrenreich said Cosatu is concerned, however, that government does not appear to have a single position.
“The bill speaks to decriminalising personal use of small amounts. The Department of Health is processing approval for its medicinal uses. The departments of trade, industry & competition as well as agriculture, rural development and land reform are working on a developing a master plan to support its industrial uses. The master plan cannot work if the bill will continue to criminalise possession and development beyond minor personal uses,” he said.
“If the government wants to nurture the industry’s growth and to ensure that its products are used for the benefit of society, then it needs to speak with one voice and not send a myriad of mixed messages,” Ehrenreich said.
In its submission to parliament’s justice committee, the Centre for Child Law, a public interest organisation, said its primary concern is that the bill fails to address the plight of children who find themselves in a cycle of “drug abuse” and who may contravene its provisions.
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