Tougher drug law amendments before Parliament

The Assistant Minister for State President, Maipelo Mophuting, presented the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2025, outlining a series of clauses aimed at tightening the law and expanding the reach of law enforcement. The Bill introduces new definitions and offences, including the possession of cannabis for non-medicinal or non-research purposes.

Mophuting said, “it also empowers drug enforcement officers to search premises at any time, arrest suspects, and use firearms when necessary. On surveillance, the Bill allows interception of communications with a magistrate’s warrant, but in urgent cases, the head of an investigatory authority can approve immediate interception.”