Smoking of cannabis, otherwise known as Indian hemp, is now legalised in South Africa.
This follows the verdict of South Africa’s highest court.
Cannabis, the court said, could be used by adults in private places according to a report fromBBC.
Giving the verdict, the Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said: “It will not be a criminal offence for an adult person to use or be in possession of cannabis in private for his or her personal consumption.”
Upon the court’s verdict, pro-marijuana activists expressed excitement at the public gallery and chanted “Weed are free now.”
South Africa’s government has not made any statement over the verdict.
It had however argued that the drug was injurious to the health of the people, hence should not be legalized.
The case was at the instance of three cannabis users who had faced prosecution.
They argued that the ban on Indian hemp “intrudes unjustifiably into their private spheres.”
With the verdict, it would remain illegal to use cannabis in public, and to sell and supply it.
