South Africans have welcomed the Constitutional Court ruling that dagga could be smoked and grown at home with one of the nation’s best qualities – humour.
Within minutes of Tuesday’s ruling, hilarious memes and videos starting flooding social media.
The Herald has rounded up some of the best.
The unanimous Constitutional Court judgment decriminalises smoking dagga at home for adults as well as growing it for personal use.
Grilled chicken franchise Nandos led the pack with their new advert saying: “Azishe, nothing satisfies the munchies like our own flame-grilled, full chicken meal”.
The public also jumped on the bandwagon, uploading their own dagga products – all tongue in cheek, they said.
Lindie’s Brownies, which are stocked in various Bay supermarkets, took the time to joke with customers through a Facebook post.
The administrator of the page uploaded an “advert” of a brownie with the green herb printed on the label, getting more than 200 reactions on Facebook.
Some even joked that they hoped the product was real.
Speaking to The Herald, Lindie joked about the comments, saying people were quite eager.
“I am for it when it comes to [the] medicinal aspect of it and I feel that each to their own because I am not a judge and it is not for me to say whether it is right or wrong [to use it].
“I am very happy for the people who need it because they can now do it without ducking and diving,” she said.
Another comedian, going by the name of Liya Nqaba, garnered more than 18,000 views on Twitter alone with his video where he called the Kanana police station looking for a police officer to become his business partner to help him distribute dagga.
The police officer could not contain his laughter, with Nqaba also asking if the police could assist him in finding customers.
Mfana ka Khumalo took to Twitter to say that the K9 police narcotics dogs used in drug bust operations had become unemployed since the announcement.
He wrote: “So the police weed sniffer dogs are now unemployed? Welcome to unemployment Bobby.”
Not everyone was as elated about the judgment, however, and some suggested that it could be taken further.
James Grant tweeted that the judgment was not practical for everyone who may want to possess and use dagga.
He asked: “Where does one get seed? Where do some get the earth necessary? What if you are sick?”
He also asked what the judgment meant by “in private”.
Ras Fumani suggested that September 18 should become National Dagga Pride Day.
He wrote: “I suggest that every year on the 18th of September we celebrate as a nation, dress up for weed and rejoice for this day. We can call it ‘Dagga Pride Day’.”
Parliament has been given two years to amend and review relevant legislation.
In the meantime‚ the court specified that it had granted interim relief that allowed personal use of dagga at home.