The University of the Witwatersrand has noted the judgement announced by the Constitutional Court of South Africa on 18 September 2018 pertaining to the use, possession or cultivation of cannabis in private by an adult person for his or her own consumption in a private place.
 
The judgement does NOT legalise the possession, use and cultivation of cannabis, but decriminalises it on certain specific conditions:
 
·         an adult person may cultivate or use or be in possession of cannabis for his/her consumption in private,
·         the use, including smoking, of cannabis in public or in the presence of children or in the presence of non-consenting adults is illegal, and
·         the use or possession of cannabis in private other than by an adult person for his/her personal consumption is illegal.
 
The ruling is not prescriptive and the University retains the right to regulate activities within its precincts. After a thorough consideration of the ruling by the University’s legal advisors, the University is confident that the University’s rules need not be changed in light of this partial relaxation of the law pertaining to cannabis. For the avoidance of doubt, no part of the precincts of the University may be considered ‘private’ or a ‘private place’ for purposes of the use, possession or cultivation of cannabis.
 
In light of the above, the University’s current rules remain and the possession, use and cultivation of cannabis in the University’s precinct remains prohibited.
 

Issued by Wits University