Task 1: (Marks: 50)
Reading Legislation: The Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 Instructions: Download a copy of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 (“The Drugs Act 140 of 1992”). Read through the provisions of the Act and answer the following questions:

Q.1.1 Which text of the Drugs Act was signed by the President? (1)

Q.1.2 On what day was the Drugs Act assented to and when did the Act commence? (2)

Q.1.3 Has this Act been amended by other legislation? If so, name two such Acts that have amended the Drugs Act. (5)

Q.1.4 Provide a summary of the stated purpose of the Drugs Act in your own words. (10)

Q.1.5 Usually, an act contains various definitions of concepts to help the reader understand the context and meaning of such concepts within the Act. Answer the following questions:

Q.1.5.1 In which section of an Act does one usually find the definitions of
concepts? (1)
Q.1.5.2 Define the following terms as they appear in the Act:
Q.1.5.2.1 “deal in” (with reference to any six actions as contained in this definition). (6)
Q.1.5.2.2 “drug”. (3)
Q.1.5.2.3 “sell”. (7)

Q.1.6 Assume for this question (Q.1.6) that you are a legal practitioner who favours the rights of individuals to not only grow and use marijuana in their own homes but to also use it freely in public places e.g., the workplace.

Download a copy of the Code of Conduct by the Legal Practice Council from https://lpc.org.za/ and summarise section 3 under “Part II – Code of Conduct: General Provisions” with reference to what legal practitioners, candidate legal practitioners and juristic entities are required to do in terms of the code. Your answer should include reference to the following:
(a) how such practitioners/entities are to act in terms of code; (3)
(b) what such practitioners/entities are meant to do in terms of the
constitution, 1996; and (6)
(c) How such practitioners/entities may treat the interests of their clients. (6)

Task 2: (Marks: 25)
Reading Judgments:

Access a copy of the case Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince and Others 2018 (6) SA 393 (CC) and answer the questions that follow:

Q.2.1 Who is the presiding officer in this case that is delivering the majority judgment of the court? (2)

Q.2.2 Who is the legal representative for the applicants in the matter (Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others)? (2)

Q.2.3 Go to paragraphs 6 and 7 in the case. You will see that it says there that “Fields of Green brought an application for admission as amicus curiae.” Explain who or what an amicus curiae refers to. (2)

Q.2.4 In your own words, briefly state the facts of the case. (4)

Q.2.5 In no more than two sentences, summarise the legal question before the court. (2)

Q.2.6 Briefly state, in your own words, the ratio decidendi (reasons for the decision) of the court. (10)

Q.2.7 Go to point 13 in the order of the court at the end of the judgment and look specifically at item (b). Summarise the court’s order in this regard. (3)

Task 3 (Marks: 30)
Reading a Complex Text

Access a copy of “Decriminalisation of cannabis for personal use in South Africa” by Emma Charlene Lubaale and Simangele Daisy Mavundla (2019) and answer the questions that follow. Use this link http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1996- 20962019000200014 to access the article. [Accessed 26 March 2021].

Q.3.1 While reading the article, identify any four words that you are unfamiliar with. Using a dictionary, find the definition of each word. Paraphrase the definition in your assignment and remember to footnote the dictionary you used as well as the page number. Provide a reference for the definition using the IIE Legal Referencing Guidelines. If you make use of an electronic resource, remember to
include the URL as well as the date of access in your footnote. (16)

Q.3.2 Identify the three international drug conventions that relate to the regulation of
narcotic and psychotropic substances and indicate whether South Africa is a party to these treaties. (4)

Q.3.3 The authors of the article seek to compare the legal position as set out in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince and Others 2018 (6) SA 393 (CC) with the international drug conventions.

Provide a summary of how the authors view the outcome of the Prince case against the international drug conventions. (6)

Q.3.4 Quote any section from the article that references the Drugs and Drug
Trafficking Act 140 of 1992. Remember to correctly cite the article in a footnote according to the IIE Legal Referencing guide. (4)

Task 4 (Marks: 30)
Plain Language Writing: making sense of proposed legislation
Obtain a copy of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill (2020) and answer the question that follows. You can access the Bill using the link: https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Bills/2020/B19_2020_Cannabis_for_Private_ Purposes_Bill/B19_2020_Cannabis_for_Private_Purposes_Bill.pdf (Accessed 26 March 2021).

Take note of the following:

o Section 1 of the Bill on page 3 sets out specific definitions.
o Section 7 of the Bill on page 7 sets out the specific penalties for offences in the Bill.
o The objects of the Bill are set out on page 19 of the Bill. Under this heading on page 20, marked as item (g) is a segment on “Prescribed quantity, trafficable quantity and commercial quantity”.

Keeping in mind the above parts of the Bill, write a note in which you would advise a colleague who does not know the law, in plain language, about what each of the different quantities in the Bill refers to and what the penalties are for contravening the provisions in the Bill governing these quantities. Think about what should be achieved when trying to engage with the general public for comment on legislation that will directly impact on their rights. There are great resources on
the VC Learn platform that you can access on Plain Language writing. One of these is the De Rebus

article: http://www.derebus.org.za/guidelines-writing-plain-language/ (Accessed 28 March 2021). For this task, you do not have to use footnotes.

There is a rubric for this task that will not only assist you by indicating what is being assessed for this question but what you need to do to succeed with answering the abovementioned question for this task.

[Please note: your word limit for this exercise is 1000 words. You must indicate a word count at the end of your task. Your lecturer will mark only up to the 1000-word limit and not beyond that].

Task 5 (Marks: 35)
Legal Drafting: a Legal Memorandum to a principal and a letter to a client

You are the attorney representing Tiffany Smith. On 8 March 2021, Tiffany was arrested at her home for cultivating and using dagga in her house. It comes to your attention that the police arrested Tiffany because Tiffany’s neighbour, Peter, had complained on many occasions that the smell of the dagga and the abundance of dagga plants in Tiffany’s yard grossly offended him.
Peter is staunchly of the view that using and growing dagga on one’s private premises is against the law and he wants Tiffany to be punished.

You have consulted with Tiffany on numerous occasions at the local police station and the police will not even consider releasing her because they are also of the view that Tiffany has entirely broken the law by using dagga and growing it in her own home. This concerns you greatly because Tiffany is an adult, and she uses the dagga for her own personal consumption. Despite telling this to the police, the reply you get is that they have to keep Tiffany in custody because they also have witness statements saying that she has also been dealing in dagga from a local coffee shop down the road from her house. Tiffany denies this entirely and her roommate, Lorraine, has also
provided you with information that backs up Tiffany’s denial of the allegation.

Q.5.1 One of your colleagues, Neil Gcabashe, is an advocate that deals specifically with
criminal matters and matters concerning malicious arrest. He agrees to take this case concerning Tiffany for you, but he requests more information from you (20)

concerning the current legal position concerning dagga consumption in private and dealing in dagga.

Draft a legal memorandum advising Neil Gcabashe on the current legal position
concerning Tiffany’s use of dagga for private use and address the legal position concerning whether dealing in dagga is still criminalised or not.

Q.5.2 Tiffany’s father, John Smith, has always been supportive of Tiffany’s private use of dagga and he would like to institute action against the Minister of Police for malicious arrest involving Tiffany.

Using plain simple language, write a formal letter to John that sets out the legal position concerning Tiffany’s situation. (15)

Final POE Submission and Essay (Marks: 100)
Access the following articles concerning the problems that are presented with the legalisation of cannabis for private use in South Africa:

o “Big problems with South Africa’s proposed cannabis laws” Staff Writer
6 September 2020
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/431588/big-problems-with-south-africas- proposed-cannabis-laws/ (Accessed 26 March 2021).

o “Dagga legislation: What were they smoking?” Sasha Planting
23 August 2020
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-23-dagga-legislation-what-were-they- smoking/ (Accessed 26 March 2021). [Note: see ‘How to guide’ below on how to read full text of this article by declining the subscription and registration process with Daily Maverick].

Write an essay on the proposed legislative changes that have resulted from the decision in the Prince case governing the private use of cannabis. Based on what you have read in preparation for your tasks, are you in favour of proposed legislation that legalises the use of cannabis privately and do you think this needs to be extended to other places such as the workplace? Alternatively, do you disagree that the use of cannabis should be legalised at all, even if just for private use?
In your essay clearly argue your position and substantiate your opinion with at least five additional new sources. This means that you must locate and read five additional new sources to the two sources above. Remember to use the IIE Legal Referencing guide when writing your essay.

There is also a marking rubric (Appendix A) that is attached to this PoE to assist you with writing your summative essay. Remember to attach it to your essay when you submit your full final summative PoE.

[Please note: your word limit for this essay is between 750 and 1500 words. You must indicate a word count at the end of your essay. Your lecturer will mark only up to the 1500-word limit and not beyond that]. (100 marks)

Answers to Above Questions on English Law

Answer 1: The Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 is an important act signed by the President of South Africa and the main purpose of this act is to prohibit the use or possession of drugs relating to the manufacture and supply of certain substances. The section 140 of 1992 states that no person should manufacture any scheduled substance or supply it to another person knowing that it will be utilised for unlawfull manufacture of any drug.

Get completed answers on the above questions on English Law as provided by the best do my assignment South Africa experts of Student Life Saviour.