Press Release: New National Vusubuntu Coalition Launches to End the Criminalisation of Personal Drug Use in South Africa

26 JUNE 2026: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA: The Vusubuntu Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Drugs for Personal Use in South Africa launched as a national, multi-sectoral movement working towards a South Africa in which no person is criminalised for personal drug use, and in which the country’s response to drug use is rooted in compassion, evidence, health, human rights and social justice. The Coalition brings together civil society organisations, legal experts, public health practitioners, faith and traditional leaders, community structures, and people who use drugs (PWUD) .

“People who use drugs are our sons and daughters, parents, partners, friends, and neighbours. They deserve care, compassion, and the chance to live healthy and meaningful lives. The Coalition brings people together to build solutions that strengthen families, protect human rights, and create safer and more inclusive communities for everyone.”
— Charne Roberts, National Advocacy Officer for the South African Network of People Who Use Drugs

In September 2018, the Constitutional Court in Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince (CCT108/17) [2018] ZACC 30 held that the criminal prohibition of the possession, use or cultivation of cannabis by an adult for personal consumption in private was an unjustifiable infringement of the right to privacy(1). The Coalition argues that the same constitutional reasoning extends beyond cannabis to other substances. The continued criminalisation of possession of other substances for personal use, on the same logic, raises serious questions of constitutional proportionality, equal protection, and the right to access healthcare without fear. The Coalition’s goal is the full decriminalisation of personal possession and use for adults, accompanied by a responsible, properly resourced transition to a health-centred and community-supported response.

“Criminalisation was intended to protect society. After forty years of evidence, the question is whether it has achieved that goal. The evidence shows it has not: people are not safer, communities are not healthier, and children are not better protected. The alternative is not doing nothing, it is adopting a more effective response that protects families, restores dignity, and allows criminal-justice resources to focus on violent and predatory crime that causes the greatest harm”.
— Charity Monareng, Vusubuntu Spokesperson and Executive Director of SSDP International

South Africa’s drug-control framework, anchored in the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act (No. 140 of 1992), has not reduced drug use, drug markets, or associated social harms. Despite decades of punitive enforcement, SAPS recorded approximately 162,100 drug-related offences in 2022/2023, with the overwhelming majority involving possession for personal use rather than dealing or trafficking(²). Enforcement is disproportionately concentrated in lower-income, historically Black and so-called Coloured communities, with areas such as Mitchells Plain recording some of the highest volumes of drug-related cases nationally(⁴). Criminalisation has therefore expanded criminal justice involvement without addressing the underlying drivers of drug use or reducing harm. The public health consequences are significant.

Criminalisation, stigma, and fear of arrest push people who use drugs (PWUD) away from essential services, increasing vulnerability to HIV, TB, and other preventable harms. Among people who inject drugs, HIV prevalence has reached 72.1% in Tshwane, while 11.8% of participants in a four-province cohort study acquired HIV over three years(⁵),(⁶). South African clinical guidelines confirm that criminalisation disrupts continuity of care, increases exposure to HIV and TB risks through arrest and incarceration, and compounds existing burdens of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV(⁷),(⁸). Evidence from Portugal demonstrates that decriminalisation can reduce drug-related harms and pressure on the criminal justice system without increasing overall drug use, while South African harm-reduction programmes have demonstrated measurable public health impact(⁹),(¹⁰).

“Since I was first introduced to the field of harm reduction in 2017, I have witnessed the unwavering efforts of individuals and organisations working to advance the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use, often against significant resistance and with limited progress. The launch of the Vusubuntu Coalition is therefore deeply personal and historic, as it brings together people who use drugs, communities, civil society, health experts and other allies behind a shared vision for change. Criminalisation has not protected people or communities; instead, it has perpetuated stigma and exclusion. Today, united as a collective, our voice is stronger, our influence is greater, and our ability to achieve evidence-based, human rights-centred reform is more powerful than ever. This Coalition gives me hope that we can build a South Africa where dignity, health and justice are placed before punishment.”
— Klaas Mtshweni, National Chairperson, SANAC CSF PWUD Sub-Sector

The Vusubuntu Coalition is launched after following an extensive consultation process with members, communities and partners across the country and is guided by ten campaign values that hold together the dignity of the individual and the legitimate safety concerns of communities:

1. Human dignity and constitutional rights: No person is criminalised for personal drug use. The state’s response respects dignity, privacy and freedom of the person.
2. Public health and harm reduction over punishment: A health-centred response prioritising prevention, treatment, care and harm reduction, with overdose-reversal medication (naloxone) and needle-and-syringe services available without fear of arrest.
3. Protection of children and vulnerable persons: Children who use substances are supported through social support, developmental and therapeutic frameworks, not the criminal justice system. The sale and supply of substances to minors remains prohibited.
4. Equity, redress and anti-discrimination: Decriminalisation as restorative justice, ending the unequal application of drug laws across race and class lines.
5. Community safety and wellbeing: Resources saved from prosecuting personal use are redirected to community-based treatment, family-strengthening programmes, and safe public spaces.
6. Evidence-based and non-judgemental: Drug use is understood as a complex social, health and developmental issue, not a moral failing. Policy is informed by the best available evidence.
7. Decriminalisation is the primary goal: Formal statutory reform removes criminal penalties for personal use, replacing discretionary enforcement with legal certainty and equal protection for all.
8. People who use drugs: “Nothing about us without us”, PWUD communities participate meaningfully in governance, strategy and public advocacy.
9. Collaborative and inclusive governance: A broad coalition spanning, civil society, the private sector, faith-based organisations, traditional leaders and community structures.
10. Accountability and responsible transition: Decriminalisation accompanied by a credible transition plan: funding for health and social services, workforce development, monitoring and community feedback.

Issued on behalf of the Vusubuntu Coalition:

• Aziel Gangerdine | aziel@tbhivcare.org | +27 (0) 66 545 6053

References

1. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Prince (Clarke and Others Intervening); National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others v Rubin; National Director of Public Prosecutions and Others v Acton (CCT108/17) [2018] ZACC 30; 2018 (10) BCLR 1220 (CC); 2018 (6) SA 393 (CC) (18 September 2018).
2. South African Police Service. Annual Crime Report 2022/2023. Pretoria: SAPS; 2023. Available from: https://www.saps.gov.za/services/downloads/2022-2023-Annual-Crime-Statistics-Report.pdf
3. Cele BH. Third Quarter Crime Statistics 2023/2024 (October to December 2023). Pretoria: Ministry of Police; February 2024.
4. South African Police Service. Drug-related crimes by location, 2022/2023. Pretoria: SAPS; 2023.
5. TB HIV Care. Bio-Behavioural Survey among people who inject drugs in South Africa (Tshwane, eThekwini, Mashishing, Mbombela), 2023. Press release, 10 September 2024. Available from: https://tbhivcare.org/press/press-release-high-hiv-and-hepatitis-infections-thwart-95-95-95-goals/
6. Artenie A, Stowe MJ, Mukandavire C, et al. HIV incidence and factors associated with HIV risk among people who inject drugs engaged with harm-reduction programmes in four provinces in South Africa: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet HIV. 2024;11(12):e857–e866. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00263-
7. Scheibe A, Sibeko G, Shelly S, Rossouw T, Zishiri V, Venter WDF. Southern African HIV Clinicians Society guidelines for harm reduction. South Afr J HIV Med. 2020;21(1):a1161. doi: 10.4102/sajhivmed.v21i1.1161
8. Scheibe A, Young K, Moses L, Basson RL, Versfeld A, Spearman CW, et al. Understanding hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV among people who inject drugs in South Africa: findings from a three-city cross-sectional survey. Harm Reduct J. 2019;16(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s12954-019-0298-2
9. Hughes CE, Stevens A. What can we learn from the Portuguese decriminalization of illicit drugs? Br J Criminol. 2010;50(6):999–1022. doi: 10.1093/bjc/azq038
10. TB HIV Care. Press release: Life-saving impact at scale. Cape Town; 19 December 2025. Available from: https://tbhivcare.org/press/press-release-life-saving-impact-at-scale/

About the Vusubuntu Coalition
The Coalition for the Decriminalisation of Drugs for Personal Use in South Africa is a broad-based alliance of civil society organisations, legal experts, public health practitioners, community leaders, faith and traditional leaders, and people who use drugs working collectively for systemic policy reform grounded in compassion, evidence, human rights and social justice.

ENDS.