A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CANNABIS
Cannabis is the fastest-growing industry in the world, so one may say that the September 2018 South African Constitutional Court ruling that effectively decriminalised the possession, use and cultivation of cannabis in private dwellings came as no surprise. The court even gave parliament 24 months from the date of the judgment to bring South African law in line with the ruling.
With the many therapeutic and health benefits associated with the plant, it should also come as no surprise that, following the ruling, the number of products on the local market that contain the plant has risen sharply.
Cannabis was once considered a Schedule 7 drug (this group also includes heroin). However, as of 24 May 2019, the Department of Health reclassified one component of cannabis, known as CBD, to Schedule 4. At the same time, it issued an exemption allowing anyone to trade in or consume CBD products without a permit or prescription. (This is in
