COLORADO'S now years-long experiment with legal medical and recreational cannabis markets has been mostly positive and fascinating, and yet the federal government has been slow to rethink its decades-long prohibitionist position. We hope the Obama administration takes advantage of its historic opportunity to end or take steps towards dismantling the destructive war on pot. What an irony it would be if Obama, who has openly admitted to pot use in his early years, and who has shown great tolerance towards local legalisation laws, left office without having moved the nation away from the antiquated reefer-madness enforcement of past presidencies. [continues 135 words]
THE page-four report "Strategy on drugs slammed" (Cape Times, July 21) rightly draws attention to the negative consequences of drug prohibition on society in general and on public health in particular. But the "experts" who make a living trying to cure these ills must find a far more nuanced approach if real progress is to be made. The opening premise that "drug users... could benefit from a variety of support structures instead of strict punitive measures" fails to recognise the fact that many - probably most - "drug users" would, like most drinkers, simply like to be left alone to use their drug of choice, without interference from puritanical, interfering busybodies in the employ of a "Nanny State". [continues 200 words]
Severely Ill Patients Vouch for Medicinal Benefits of Dagga Oil AS A mother, Veronica Ellis would do anything to help her eight-year-old child, even if it meant the unthinkable: giving her a small daily dose of a forbidden drug. But she could no longer watch her once-radiant daughter, now a hollow skeleton, slipping away. "What convinced me was looking at Bayleigh, lying all day on a mattress here in front of the TV," says Ellis, a small-framed, resolute mother of three. "She was so tired, she just didn't want to get up. Her face was white, she had black rings under her eyes. She wouldn't eat anything. She lost 1kg in a week." [continues 1205 words]
An ill Boksburg man has obtained a court order to stay his criminal trial for possessing, manufacturing and dealing in dagga pending the outcome of a constitutional challenge aimed at legalising the substance in South Africa. Judge Ronel Tolmay granted an order in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to stay the criminal trial of Clifford Thorp, 58, pending the final outcome of his legal battle to legalise the medicinal use of dagga. The court in November last year granted Thorp permission to join the application of Julian Stobbs and his partner Myrtle Clarke, also known as the "Dagga couple", in their legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act which outlaws the possession of and dealing in dagga. [continues 289 words]
WHILE the latest research on cannabis confirms anecdotes that weed slows and even removes Alzheimer's, the dagga couple of SA still have a long fight to change the illegal status of the drug in South Africa. On their non-profit organisation website, Fields of Green for All, the infamous dagga couple, Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke, said their case will finally come to court on July 31, 2017. And after all their effort to get there, the Pretoria high court will have to escalate the questions raised on the constitutionality of being arrested for possessing dagga to the Constitutional Court. The couple have also sued seven South African government departments on charges of enacting unlawful laws. [continues 831 words]
Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie, pictured, has announced a plan he says is supported by his political party to rid gang-afflicted communities of drug dealers. On his Facebook account, he yesterday asked members of these communities to inbox him the addresses of drug houses and "lolly lounges" in their areas, because the PA needed to verify that they were, indeed, selling drugs. He wrote: "We shall send kids to buy drugs in order to be a hundred percent sure that your accusation is accurate. We shall verify every house before we strike. [continues 337 words]
Africa Check investigates the source of this statistic and others related to drug use in South Africa TOM ROBBINS, AMERICAN AUTHOR (1932-). Any half-awake materialist well knows - that which you hold holds you. "Drug use is really a symptom, not a primary cause of many of South Africa's issues, but it is a politically expedient target for people to focus on, instead of addressing the real imbalances and inequalities in our society." THE apparent drug-related murder of a respected media personality, Hope Zinde, has reignited a countrywide discussion about drug abuse in South Africa. Her son has been formally charged with her murder and possession of drugs. Media reports have linked his actions to a drug addiction that he is said to be suffering with. [continues 1158 words]
After 40 Years Dope Goes Mainstream at Festival AFTER more than 40 years on the fringe of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, dagga finally stepped out of the shadows and into the mainstream. Usually whispered about in hushed tones and smoked in dark corners, pot took centre stage as red-eyed stoners, blue rinse pensioners and academics scrambled to find out more about weed at talks on decriminalisation and the medicinal benefits of the plant. Even South Africa's high profile "Dagga Couple", Jules Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke, made the long haul to festival city where they smoked high quality cannabis oil from an odourless vapouriser at a busy High Street coffee shop. [continues 934 words]
BILL Clinton memorably took a puff, but did not inhale. A few years later, his fellow Democrat Barack Hussein Obama admitted that in his youth not only did he take a puff from a dagga roll, but he also inhaled. "I inhaled frequently. That was the point," he said. Mind you, these were public admissions, therefore suggesting that these personalities had done something wrong by smoking dagga. However, because these admissions came from these personalities, they sounded rather cool. Society in general frowns upon weed, and arbiters of moral standards especially in this country will tell you that dagga smokers are failures who are destined for two places: jail or an early grave. [continues 687 words]
MEC Nomsa Mtsweni Joins March Against Substance Abuse and Illicit Trafficking YOUNG people throughout the province have been urged to distance themselves from drugs as well as other illicit practices and become focused on education to achieve a better future. The appeal was made by social development MEC Nomsa Mtsweni when she led the provincial government's participation in the international Day against Substance Abuse in Kwaggafontein this week. The significance of the event was also to promote activities performed by local anti-drug action committees. [continues 248 words]
Project Seeks to Break the Cycle of Trauma With New Solutions FIFTY drug addicts are to take part in pioneering substitution therapy trials, using methadone in a bid to wean them off whoonga/heroin. The ground-breaking demonstration project is scheduled to start in October and will last 18 months. It will evaluate improvements to drug addicts' quality of life under treatment, as well as looking at the cost-effectiveness of using opioid substitution therapy in the state health system . The provincial and national Departments of Health and the Department of Social Development will be watching the outcome, said Professor Monique Marks, head of the Urban Futures Centre at the Durban University of Technology. [continues 474 words]
Cape Town - The abuse of illegal and over-the-counter drugs was seemingly growing and needed to be dealt with urgently, said the chairperson of the SA Medical Association, Mzukisi Grootboom. He added that South Africa continued to be the regional hub for drug trafficking in and out of the country. "Drug dependency, in all its forms, is a massive problem that creates serious health, social, legal, and economic problems for the country. We need to stand together to deal with this and say enough is enough." [continues 287 words]
FIFTY Durban drug addicts are to take part in pioneering substitution therapy trials, using methadone in a bid to wean them off whoonga/heroin. The groundbreaking demonstration project is scheduled to start in October and will last 18 months. It will evaluate improvements to the quality of life of drug addicts under treatment, as well as looking at the cost-effectiveness of using opioid substitution therapy in the state health system . The provincial and national Departments of Health and the Department of Social Development would be watching the outcome, said Professor Monique Marks, head of the Urban Futures Centre at the Durban University of Technology. [continues 314 words]
In a newsletter that reaches 700 000 medical aid members, a health insurance company presented "shocking South African drug statistics". But Africa Check researcher Vinayak Bhardwaj, says these aren't strictly factual THE APPARENT drug-related murder of a respected media personality, Hope Zinde, has reignited a countrywide discussion about drug abuse in South Africa. Her son has been formally charged with her murder and possession of drugs. Media reports have linked his actions to a drug addiction he is said to be suffering. [continues 1161 words]
SARS has been hitting the "narcos" hard of late, with a number of large drug seizures, but no one seems to know its actual effect on South Africa's war on drugs. Since the beginning of the year the men, women and dogs of SARS have netted millions of rands worth of drugs at several ports of entry. At the beginning of the month, SARS officials seized drugs worth R9-million in two incidents. At the Lebombo border, officials seized 51 bags of ephedrine and 14 bags of crystal meth from hidden compartments in a car. The drugs were believed to be worth R7-million. [continues 203 words]
Decriminalising Drugs Is Straightforward; People Are Empowered With Choice ONE of the key traits of humanity is the ability to implement laws and change them as new evidence, facts and data become available, thus creating greater awareness. Such is the evolution of society, to build and refine knowledge due to new findings and information. In 1971, the Misuse of Drugs Act was implemented in the UK, causing a wave of punitive legislation throughout the world. Suddenly, the recreational drug culture of the 1960s had come to an end, bringing with it a darker era of obscured drug use run by crime syndicates holding a monopoly over the masses. [continues 688 words]
WHEN Dr Richard Oxtoby says that there are "no rational grounds" for making cannabis ("dagga") illegal, he hits the nail squarely on the head. I am charged with the crime of cultivation and possession of cannabis, so I recently approached the National Prosecuting Authority to discuss the possibility of a plea bargain based on restorative justice. Could I perhaps meet with, apologise to and somehow compensate the victims of my crime in return for a reduced sentence? Of course not, there are no victims; so as a simple stoner, I am denied an opportunity available to robbers and rapists. No rational grounds indeed. Stephen Pain Friends of the Earth, Riversdale [end]
Dear Editor and Quinton The article which appeared in Wednesday's newspaper: "Legalise it, says General Vearey" needs further attention. It is very much one-sided, and speaks of a very narrow mind on this topic. The only thing said of any meaning was a bigger focus on prevention. Yet, this needs much, much more emphasis. As a matter of fact, it needs massive national emphasis. An article in this week's Eike Stad newspaper, the local weekly publication in Stellenbosch, should also be read. Drugs are often the result of crime, and not the other way round. [continues 632 words]
I NOTE, (Cape Times, June 8) that General Vearey has called for a review of South Africa's war on drugs. There is no doubt these thugs and gangs are a law unto themselves and the police are simply not coping. How many more killings of innocent people, especially children caught in the crossfire, can the Government allow to continue? Helen Zille, a while back, and Patricia de Lille asked for the army to be brought into the Manenberg area. We use our army all over Africa to help countries on a war footing, but we have a war in our own backyard. [continues 163 words]
Stop Arresting South Africans for Low-Level Use, Write Myrtle Clarke and Julian Stobbs THE cracks in the policies that prohibit the use, cultivation and trade in cannabis in South Africa are beginning to show. Fields of Green for ALL representatives attended the recent UN Special Session on Drugs in New York as civil society delegates. Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, and Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, were there in their official capacity. But South Africa's comments on the outcome document were as bland as the majority of other countries, and a report that described the whole special session as a "damp squib" was quite accurate. [continues 1023 words]
Inside South Africa
