Des Erasmus
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has invited public comments on the draft regulations for the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, which propose upper limits on the possession, cultivation and transportation of cannabis for private use.
The draft regulations propose that an adult may possess no more than 750 grams of cannabis in a private place for private purpose “at any given time during the course of a single day”, and no more than 750 grams in a public place for private purpose over the same period.
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They also propose a cap of five cannabis plants cultivated in a private place for private purpose “at any given time, regardless of the size, shape or strain”, and limit transportation to 750 grams cumulatively “at any given time during the course of a single day”.
The proposed limits arrive after a long policy and legislative runway following a 2018 Constitutional Court ruling.
Earlier government drafts and parliamentary versions floated different thresholds for private possession (including lower home-possession caps and much lower public-possession caps) and paired them with heavy criminal penalties for conduct framed as “trading” or otherwise falling outside the private-use boundary.
The private-use framework has also repeatedly bumped up against unresolved questions about a legal route to commercial activity.
At points in the parliamentary process, amendments were advanced that contemplated regulated recreational commercial activity alongside private use, the result of public pressure from pro-cannabis and business sectors to move beyond decriminalisation towards a formal market.
Those commercial questions have remained contested and have been treated as a separate policy track from the private-use law itself.
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The draft regulations form part of the ongoing process to implement the Act, which Parliament enacted to give effect to the 2018 unanimous Constitutional Court judgment in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince and Others.
In that ruling, the court found the criminalisation of the use or possession of cannabis by an adult for private purposes was not reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society founded on human dignity, equality, and freedom.
The apex court declared the relevant legislative provisions constitutionally invalid, and directed Parliament to effect the necessary amendments.
In the run-up to the Act being signed, sectors of civil society said that some legislative drafting choices risked narrowing the practical effect of the privacy principle, warning that overly strict or vaguely policed limits could recreate criminal jeopardy for adults who are not dealing, but who fall outside technical thresholds.
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Members of the public and interested stakeholders were told to submit written comments to the Department by 5 March 2026.
Copies of the draft regulations are available on the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development website and in the Government Gazette: https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/notices/2026/20260202-gg54061rg7067-Draft%20Cannabis%20Regulations.pdf .
Once finalised, the proposed limits will be submitted to Parliament for approval prior to coming into effect.
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