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In this guide
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
Since the Constitutional Court’s Prince judgment and the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, adults may use and grow cannabis privately — yet arrests continue where the lines blur: quantities, cars, public spaces, workplaces and selling. Here are the actual boundaries, and the cleanup routes for old convictions.
What’s legal
Adults: private use and possession in private spaces, personal cultivation at a private residence, and possession in public of quantities consistent with personal use (the Act sets prescribed quantities — regulations finalise the numbers; until fully operational, the Prince framework governs with ‘personal use’ as the test). Sharing without payment between adults in private falls within the framework; anything commercial does not.
What remains criminal
DEALING — selling any quantity, and possession of quantities implying dealing; supplying minors (aggravated); public use; use exposing children. The ‘private club’ and ‘grow-for-me’ models sit in contested territory — several prosecutions have tested them; structure matters enormously and most informal models fail the line. Import/export remains controlled. If money moves toward cannabis, assume criminal exposure until advised otherwise.
Cars, roadblocks and driving
Driving under the influence of drugs is an offence — no legal ‘limit’ like alcohol; impairment plus evidence (blood tests, observation) convicts. Possession IN a car: your car is private-ish, but quantities and packaging (scales, baggies) build dealing inferences fast. At roadblocks: rights unchanged — no consent to open-ended searches, silence beyond identification, attorney before statements.
Work and cannabis
Legal at home ≠ protected at work: employers may enforce zero-tolerance safety policies, and CCMA case law (Enever line of cases notwithstanding — the Labour Appeal Court’s privacy ruling shifted ground for non-safety roles) is still settling. Safety-critical roles: testing positive can still cost the job; office roles: blanket policies punishing private lawful use face discrimination challenges. Both sides need current advice — this corner of law is moving.
Cleaning up old records
The Act provides for EXPUNGEMENT of previous convictions for conduct now lawful (possession/use) — automatic processes were legislated and applications remain available; older dagga possession records also qualify under general expungement after 10 years. A 1990s possession record blocking a visa is fixable — pull the police clearance, then file the right route.
Frequently asked questions
How many plants can I grow?
The Act prescribes quantities per adult/household via regulations — modest personal cultivation at a private residence is the framework. Commercial-scale gardens are dealing inferences with fertiliser.
Can police still arrest me for a joint in my pocket?
Public possession within personal-use quantities shouldn’t ground arrest — but public USE remains an offence, and officers still overreach. Comply, stay silent, call us; unlawful arrests are actionable.
Can my employer fire me for a positive test?
Safety-critical role with a clear policy: realistic risk. Desk role, private lawful use, blanket policy: contestable — recent case law favours privacy. Facts and policy wording decide.
Is CBD legal?
Compliant low-THC CBD products are lawful within the published exclusions; THC products outside the private framework are not. Retail cannabis ‘dispensaries’ selling THC remain unlawful.
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