The Constitutionality of the Use of Marijuana and Freedom of Religion in South African and the Current Legal Point

The constitutionality of the use of marijuana and freedom of religion in South African and the current legal point

1. What is marijuana and it origin

Cannabis is a drug that comes from Indian hemp plants such as Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. Cannabis is a depressant drug. Depressant drugs do not necessarily make one feel depressed. Rather, they slow down the activity of the central nervous system and the messages going between the brain and the body. The Mexican term 'marijuana' is frequently used in referring to cannabis leaves or other crude plant material in many countries.

2. The prohibition of marijuana

In South Africa national prohibition on marijuana, though generally accepted since the early-mid 19th century was legislated in 1992. The Drugs and Drugs Trafficking Act No. 140 of 1992, is the controlling legislation on street drugs including Cannabis. Cultivation, possession, use, supply and dealing in Cannabis is illegal in South Africa. The aforementioned Act allows charges to be brought under three separate provisions: Section 3 cultivation, manufacture and supply Section 4 use and possession Section 5 dealing.

3. Use of marijuana and freedom of religion

In the Apartheid regime the Union Constitution was not supreme and it did not incorporate a Bill of Rights. Under the union Constitution, human rights could be violated by the state without recourse to the courts. Freedom of religion was amongst the rights that were violated under National Party rule. According to Lave, when the National party came to power in 1948 and officially introduced apartheid as a national governing policy it declared its legitimacy on religious grounds with the moral support of the Dutch Reformed Church. As a result the laws during the apartheid period demonstrated a manifest preference for a particular interpretation of Christianity.

Freedom of religion, belief and opinion is a right enshrined in the 1996 Constitution of South Africa which is aimed at...