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Marijuana decriminalised in South Africa – but can’t be bought from pharmacies

“Govt now wants people to buy Zol from a pharmacist, using a doctor’s letter,” reads the headline of a May 2019 article published on the South African website 013 News and shared on Facebook.

Zol – and dagga – are South African words for marijuana.

Does South Africa’s government “want” people to buy zol from a pharmacy?



False headline


In September 2018, South Africa’s Constitutional Court – the county’s highest court – ruled that using dagga was a private issue.

The court decriminalised the private use of dagga.

But it did not rule that people could buy the drug from a pharmacist, with a doctor’s letter.

The article’s headline is false. – Butchie Seroto




 

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