Garreth Prince culture/people/gareth-prince.md
Gareth
Garreth Anver Prince is a RastafarianRastafari law graduate from Cape Town whose wishattempt to practise lawbecome an attorney began the longesta decades-long legal fight over cannabis in [South Africa](/country/za/). For twenty years he argued that the state should make room forCourt records use Garreth; many newspapers print Gareth.[@4,5,8] The Cape Law Society refused to register his faithcommunity-service contract because of two cannabis convictions and his intention to keep using the plant as a Rastafari. He lost that argumenthis religious-freedom claim in the Constitutional Court2002, before the African Commission and at the United Nations. Then, with others, he madethen won a different one, about privacy, and case in 2018 the same court agreed: adults may use, possess and grow cannabis in private.[@14,2,5]
His cases are a study in how theThe same facts can failfailed as a religious claim and succeedbut succeeded as a privacy claim to be left alone. Yet 2018 was not the end: the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act was still not in force in 2026, and Prince was back in court over arrests, plant destruction and the exclusion of traditional growers.[@9,14,15]
## A choice between faith and career
Prince, born in 1969, completed the academic requirements to becomefor admission as an attorney.[@1] The next step was a period of community service, and for that the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope had to find him "“a fit and proper person"”. He disclosed two previous convictions for possessing cannabis convictions and said that, as a Rastafarian, he would go onkeep using itthe plant as a Rastafari. The society refused to register his contract. As his complaint to the UN put it, so he had to choose between his faith and his career.[@1,4]
His case described the religion's use in detail: cannabis is smoked through a chalice as part of communion at religious gatherings and, burnt as incense, and used at home to bathe in, to smoke, drink and eat. There; there were then about 12,000 Rastafarians in South AfricaRastafari.[@14]
## Five votes to four
The Cape High Court dismissed his challenge in March 1998 and the Supreme Court of Appeal in May 2000had already dismissed his challenge.[@1] On [25 January 2002](/history/south-africa-prince-law-society-2002/) the Constitutional Court ruled against him by five votes to four. The majority accepted that the lawban limited theRastafari religious rights of Rastafarians but held the limitit justified: there would be "was “no objective way"” for police to tell religious use from any other.[@1,24]
Four judges dissented. Justice Albie Sachs wrote that the Constitution obliges the state "“to walk the extra mile" to accommodate a religious minority”.[@24]
## Africa and the United Nations
Prince tookAbroad, the case abroad. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, at its session in Dakar in late 2004, found [no violation](/history/south-africa-prince-african-commission-2004/); in 2004, saying the government, it said, was "“better placed"” to judge what suited its citizens. Prince told the *Mail & Guardian*said he was asking only for "wanted “a reasonable accommodation" of his beliefs”, not for decriminalisation.[@32,43] On [31 October 2007](/history/south-africa-prince-un-committee-2007/) the UN Human Rights Committee also found no breach. It accepted that cannabis is anwas essential part ofto the religion, but held thatsaid an exemption would need a system toan import and distribute cannabisdistribution system that could leak into general circulation, so a ban without exceptions was justified.[@1]
| Forum | Year | Claim | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Court | 2002 | Religious exemption | Lost, 5–4 |
| African Commission | 2004 | Religious exemption | No violation |
| UN Human Rights Committee | 2007 | Religion, equality, minority rights | No breach |
| Western Cape High Court | 2017 | Privacy | Won |
| Constitutional Court | 2018 | Privacy | Won, unanimous |
## From religion to privacy
PrinceHe returned to court with a claim that did not depend on faith at all. With Jeremy Acton, founder of the [Dagga Party](/history/south-africa-dagga-party-2009/), and Jonathan Rubin, he argued that the ban on usingprivate use and growing cannabis at homecultivation violated the right to privacy. The Western Cape High Court agreed [in March 2017](/history/south-africa-western-cape-2017/).[@5,6]
On [18 September 2018](/history/south-africa-constitutional-court-2018/) the Constitutional Court confirmed it unanimously,the ruling in a unanimous judgment by the Acting Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo. Criminalising theadults’ private possession, use or cultivation of cannabis by adults for personal consumption in private was unconstitutional. Parliament was given 24 months to change the law, and in the meantime; adults could use, possess and grow cannabis in private.[@5]
## What it changed
The ruling made no exception for religion
The ruling covered every adult in private, RastafarianRastafari or not. Buying and selling stayed illegal, and use in public or around children was not permitted.[@5] Prince called the decision “a vindication for the Rastafarian community, the cannabis community, as well as for myself”.[@7]
## Two cases, two claims
The 2002 case asked for a religious exemption; the 2018 case asked for privacy. The orders show the difference.[@4,5]
| 2002 — Religious freedom claim unsuccessful | 2018 — Privacy claim successful |
|---|---|
| **Prince v President of the Law Society** (CCT 36/00), 2002 | **Minister of Justice v Prince** (CCT 108/17), 2018 |
| Claim: a religious exemption for Rastafari use. | Claim: privacy for adults using cannabis privately. |
| Order: “The appeal is dismissed.” | Order: the ban is invalid “to the extent that [it makes] the use or possession of cannabis in private by an adult ... a criminal offence.” |
## What the law changed
Parliament'’s answer, the [Cannabis for Private Purposes Act](/history/south-africa-private-purposes-act-2024/), was signed in May 2024. It provides for private use, possession, cultivation and transport, but it starts only on a date set by presidential proclamation. By October 2026 it had still not beencommenced. Draft regulations published in February 2026 proposed limits of 750 grams and five plants; they were not final.[@14,15,16]
## Back to court in 2026
In April 2026 Prince, the RasTafari Nation Council and small-scale farmers brought into forcean urgent Western Cape High Court application. They sought relief against arrests, plant destruction and the exclusion of traditional growers, and challenged the Act and Hemp Regulations.[@9]
State ministries arrived without answering papers. Acting Judge Mnengwana refused, set a timetable and ordered the case back on 8 June.[@9] It was postponed to July; on 31 July the court directed the parties to seek a settlement.[@10,11]
Prince’s notice said a court-directed interdepartmental meeting would be held at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition on 14–15 September. A report described departments meeting on 15–16 September, with a response due by 20261 October.[@511] The argumenttalks were not a ruling. By mid-October the department had not published an account and state lawyers had sought more time.[@12]
The government is separately seeking legal pathways to formalise indigenous growers.[@13] Prince lost’s application argues that the Act was wrongly tagged as a believersection 75 bill, he won asthat public participation was defective, and that it creates a citizenright to use cannabis without a lawful source of supply.[@10] Those claims have not been decided.
The Act remains uncommenced.[@14,15]
GarethGarreth Prince
A RastafarianRastafari law graduate infrom Cape Town who was barred from the legal profession forrefused admission as an attorney because he would keep using cannabis. He lost his case for a religious exemption at home,-freedom claim in Africa and at the UN2002, then wonhelped win the 2018 privacy caseruling that madeprotected private use legal, and returned to court in South Africa in 20182026 over the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act and the exclusion of traditional growers.
South African Rastafari law graduate, activist and litigant
Garreth Anver Prince, Gareth Prince, Gareth Anver Prince, Ras Garreth Prince, Ras Gareth Prince, Prince v President of the Cape Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope, Minister of Justice v Prince
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Constitutional Court of South Africa — Prince v President of the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope (CCT 36/00) [2002] ZACC 1 (25 January 2002)
Constitutional Court of South Africa — Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development v Prince (CCT 108/17) [2018] ZACC 30 (18 September 2018)
Oxford Human Rights Hub — Nabeelah Mia, South Africa decriminalises the private use, possession and cultivation of cannabis (2 October 2018)
The Citizen — PICS: Dagga milestone largely welcomed, ‘but there are risks’ (19 September 2018)
IOL — Rasta lawyer to challenge drugs act (4 May 2013)
George Herald — State ministries fail to file in urgent cannabis case (15 April 2026)
Mail & Guardian — South Africa started global cannabis prohibition. It can end it (8 July 2026)
Cannabiz Africa / Cannabis Law Report — Key departments met in Pretoria on 15 and 16 September to develop a coordinated approach (12 September 2026)
Cannabiz Africa — DTIC hopes to get Cannabis Master Plan back on track (15 October 2026)
Business Day — Unlocking the R36bn rural cannabis sector: state seeks to formalise growers (25 September 2026)
TalkingDrugs — No progress after 2 years of South African Cannabis Act (6 October 2026)
Government of South Africa — Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 7 of 2024
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development — Ministry invites public comment on draft Regulations for the Private Use of Cannabis (3 February 2026)
Wikipedia — Prince v President of the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope
Wikipedia — Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development v Prince
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src ../../src/assets/culture/garreth-prince-cape-town-high-court-2013.jpg · alt Garreth Prince, a bearded man with long dreadlocks, wearing a dark suit, blue shirt and pink tie, stands in front of the Cape Town High Court sign · caption Garreth Prince outside the Cape Town High Court on 3 May 2013, after an appearance in his challenge to South Africa’s cannabis laws. · credit Leon Lestrade / Weekend Argus · credit url https://iol.co.za/news/2013-05-04-rasta-lawyer-to-challenge-drugs-act/