South Africa’s Constitutional Court is on Thursday expected to make a ruling on whether it is a criminal offence for children to possess or use cannabis.
This follows an application by the Centre for Child Law (CCL) which wants the court to confirm whether provisions of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act that decriminalised the possession and use of cannabis by children are unconstitutional as directed by a 2020 High Court ruling.
The High Court ruling came in the wake of a 2019 Constitutional Court order that decriminalised private use of cannabis by adults.
That ruling was challenged by some rights group who felt that it did not address the criminalisation of its use by children.
The CCL wants the Constitutional Court to make it clear that children addicted to cannabis should not be dealt with under the criminal justice system.
It believes such children should instead receive treatment as provided for under the Children’s Act or the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act.
According to the centre, emphasis should rather be placed on treating children for drug dependency than criminalising them when adults in the same position are treated differently.
JN/APA