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1 South Africa: OPED: Legalising CannabisTue, 09 Aug 2016
Source:Mercury, The (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:45 Added:08/09/2016

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.

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2 South Africa: PUB LTE: Alternatives NeededMon, 25 Jul 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Pain, Stephen Area:South Africa Lines:53 Added:07/25/2016

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".

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3 South Africa: Forbidden Drug Is A 'Miracle'Sat, 16 Jul 2016
Source:Star, The (South Africa) Author:Bega, Sheree Area:South Africa Lines:169 Added:07/16/2016

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."

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4 South Africa: Court Order Stay On Dagga TrialFri, 15 Jul 2016
Source:Citizen, The (South Africa) Author:Lange, Ilse de Area:South Africa Lines:66 Added:07/16/2016

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.

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5 South Africa: Cannabis Story Is Slowly Turning Full CircleThu, 14 Jul 2016
Source:Witness, The (South Africa) Author:Viljoen, Alwyn Area:South Africa Lines:124 Added:07/14/2016

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.

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6 South Africa: PA Declares War On DrugsWed, 13 Jul 2016
Source:Citizen, The (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:60 Added:07/14/2016

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.

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7 South Africa: Does 15% of Sa's Population Have a Drug Problem?Mon, 11 Jul 2016
Source:Witness, The (South Africa) Author:Bhardwaj, Vinayak Area:South Africa Lines:177 Added:07/11/2016

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.

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8 South Africa: Dagga Steps Out Of The Shadows To Fuel DebateSat, 09 Jul 2016
Source:Dispatch (South Africa) Author:MacGregor, David Area:South Africa Lines:158 Added:07/11/2016

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.

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9 South Africa: Column: Puff And Pass Law To Legalise HerbFri, 08 Jul 2016
Source:Sowetan (South Africa) Author:Khumalo, Fred Area:South Africa Lines:111 Added:07/08/2016

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.

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10 South Africa: R61.3m For Drug CampaignFri, 01 Jul 2016
Source:New Age, The (South Africa) Author:Nyaka, France Area:South Africa Lines:60 Added:07/01/2016

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.

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11 South Africa: Stop War On Drugs, Increase SupportTue, 28 Jun 2016
Source:Cape Argus (South Africa) Author:Cole, Barbara Area:South Africa Lines:92 Added:06/28/2016

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.

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12 South Africa: 'Drug Abuse Is Growing In SA'Mon, 27 Jun 2016
Source:Citizen, The (South Africa) Author:Williams, Denise Area:South Africa Lines:62 Added:06/28/2016

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."

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13 South Africa: Pilot Plan For AddictsMon, 27 Jun 2016
Source:Daily News, The (South Africa) Author:Cole, Barbara Area:South Africa Lines:68 Added:06/27/2016

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.

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14 South Africa: OPED: Drug Data Is Sorely LackingMon, 27 Jun 2016
Source:Daily News, The (South Africa) Author:Bhardwaj, Vinayak Area:South Africa Lines:172 Added:06/27/2016

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.

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15 South Africa: Questions Over SA War On DrugsFri, 17 Jun 2016
Source:Herald, The (South Africa) Author:Smillie, Shaun Area:South Africa Lines:54 Added:06/17/2016

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.

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16 South Africa: Column: The War On Drugs Has Clearly FailedMon, 13 Jun 2016
Source:New Age, The (South Africa) Author:Lotz, Chelsea Area:South Africa Lines:106 Added:06/14/2016

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.

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17 South Africa: PUB LTE: Strange RealityFri, 10 Jun 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Pain, Stephen Area:South Africa Lines:28 Added:06/11/2016

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

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18 South Africa: LTE: Drug Stance Ill-Conceived As ProblemFri, 10 Jun 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Mare, Piet Area:South Africa Lines:119 Added:06/10/2016

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.

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19 South Africa: LTE: Drugs A Global IssueFri, 10 Jun 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Sandler, Barbie Area:South Africa Lines:51 Added:06/10/2016

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.

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20 South Africa: OPED: The Argument To Decriminalise CannabisWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Daily News, The (South Africa) Author:Clarke, Myrtle Area:South Africa Lines:165 Added:06/08/2016

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.

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21 South Africa: OPED: Dagga Couple's Joint LobbyWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Star, The (South Africa) Author:Clarke, Myrtle Area:South Africa Lines:181 Added:06/08/2016

First, We Need to Stop the Arrests for Low-Level Use, but Decriminalisation Doesn't Go Far Enough; We Must Push for Legalisation, 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. Our minister of police and deputy minister of social development were there in their official capacity.

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22 South Africa: Legalise It, Says General VeareyWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Mtyala, Quinton Area:South Africa Lines:90 Added:06/08/2016

ONE of the Western Cape's top police officers has called for a review of South Africa's war on drugs.

And the SA National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (Sanca) and the Central Drug Authority (CDA) agreed with the province's deputy police commissioner, Jeremy Vearey, that a strict regime of law enforcement and demand reduction had been ineffective in fighting the use of illegal drugs.

In a status update posted recently on Facebook, Vearey used the example of a Liverpool psychiatrist, John Marks, who while consulting for Britain's National Health Service in the early 1980s, gave crack cocaine and heroin to his drug-addicted patients to prevent them from "robbing and mugging to fund their habit".

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23 South Africa: OPED: Death Knell for Last Apartheid Law onWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Pretoria News, The (South Africa) Author:Clarke, Myrtle Area:South Africa Lines:151 Added:06/08/2016

Trial of the Plant to Lay Foundation for Future Policy

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. Our minister of police and deputy minister of social development were there in their official capacities. But South Africa's comments on the outcome document were as bland as most of the other countries, and a report that described the whole special session as a "damp squib" was quite accurate. Dagga couple Myrtle Clarke and Julian Stobbs seem to be making headway in their fight for the legalisation of cannabis.

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24 South Africa: OPED: Banning Cannabis More Harmful Than DrugWed, 08 Jun 2016
Source:Cape Argus (South Africa) Author:Clarke, Myrtle Area:South Africa Lines:180 Added:06/08/2016

SA Can Join Countries in Showing Shortcomings and Deciding on Policies

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. Our Minister of Police and Deputy Minister of Social Development 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 special session as a "damp squib" was quite accurate.

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25 South Africa: Gauteng Leads 'Radical' War On DrugsWed, 01 Jun 2016
Source:Citizen, The (South Africa) Author:Salavu, Anelisa Area:South Africa Lines:42 Added:06/01/2016

The Gauteng provincial government yesterday took to the streets of Hillbrow to spread the word on its drug rehabilitation programme as part of Child Protection Week, which started on Sunday.

The "radical" programme implemented by the Gauteng department of social development is aimed at compelling the rehabilitation of young drug addicts, who pose a danger to themselves and others.

Gauteng social development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said government was embarking on the campaign to raise awareness on the rights of children and intervention and prevention programmes available for drug addicts.

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26 South Africa: Marijuana Must Be Legalised, Says MalemaTue, 31 May 2016
Source:Witness, The (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:42 Added:05/31/2016

JOHANNESBURG - Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema yesterday said he supported the legalisation of dagga.

"We have no problem with marijuana being legalised. It must be legalised. It must be dealt with professionally so that it is not abused and used for wrong purposes," Malema told reporters at the EFF's national list conference in Midrand.

"I think alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana. I tried [marijuana] once and then after trying I went home to cook and I messed up everything in the kitchen."

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27 South Africa: This What Hell Looks LikeSun, 22 May 2016
Source:Times, The (South Africa) Author:Mahlangu, Dominic Area:South Africa Lines:156 Added:05/23/2016

IT'S Tuesday morning on Goud Street in central Johannesburg. Jomo's cohorts are injecting two shots of nyaope into his neck.

He can't sleep without a dose. "I have been through hell, my brother. This is the life that works for me."

Jomo, who will not reveal his surname, says he has been in the city for more than 15 years. He arrived in 2000 from Mpumalanga and has been hustling since.

"I once had a job at a bakery in Bree Street. When it closed down I tried to survive but I ended up on the streets.

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28 South Africa: Column: What Have Our Politicians Been Smoking?Wed, 11 May 2016
Source:Cape Argus (South Africa) Author:Biggs, David Area:South Africa Lines:74 Added:05/11/2016

I WAS interested - and I must admit, rather pleased - to read that about 6 000 people had taken part in a march in central Cape Town in an effort to have the law changed regarding the use of medical marijuana. The problem with people in authority seems to be a lack of understanding about "drugs" in general.

Say the word "marijuana" and the official mind immediately clicks shut and thinks: "crime, dagga, violence, evil, gangsters", and so on.

Marijuana is a drug, just like millions of other drugs. Aspirin is a drugs, cough medicines are drugs, paracetamol is a drug, alcohol is a drug, laxatives are drugs.

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29 South Africa: Louder Calls To Legalise MarijuanaMon, 09 May 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:31 Added:05/10/2016

THOUSANDS joined the call to legalise and regulate marijuana in a march through the city centre at the weekend.

At the annual Cannabis March on Saturday, people walked from the corner of Tennant and Keizersgracht streets, through the heart of Cape Town up Long Street and down the Company's Garden.

Johannes Berkhout of Bongalong, the company which organised the march, said there was growing interest in the legalisation of cannabis, citing its benefits.

"People that were present at the event range from doctors to technicians. These are not people who get high when they go to work, but they support the legalisation and regulation of it," said Berkhout.

Berkhout added that with public events like the march, the stigma around cannabis use was lessened. "We want government to give us feedback on this. They say people don't want dagga legalised, but the march showed the opposite."

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30 South Africa: Marchers Call For Legal DaggaSun, 08 May 2016
Source:Cape Argus (South Africa) Author:Sokanyile, Asanda Area:South Africa Lines:52 Added:05/08/2016

FOUR people were arrested at the 10th annual Cannabis Walk, which saw thousands march in a call on the government to legalise the use of dagga.

The march began from the corner of Tennant and Keizersgracht streets yesterday, with excited and eager protesters singing and dancing to reggae music. The smell of cannabis filled the streets as marchers made their point. Some carried posters which read "It's very unnatural to make nature illegal".

March leader Johannes Berkhout said he was delighted at the turnout, which he said "makes it clear many are rooting for the legalisation of marijuana".

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31 South Africa: Editorial: Decriminalising Dagga In SAMon, 25 Apr 2016
Source:Business Day (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:99 Added:04/25/2016

It Would Help to Relieve Suffering of Many People

Dagga Could Be a Source of Income ... and an Export Crop in Which Sa Has a Competitive Advantage

A UNITED Nations (UN) summit on drugs last week ended with no change to the global 1998 agreement banning use, despite calls from many countries for a new approach.

That is a pity for the global "war on drugs", which has done little to arrest the ills of drug addiction and, if anything, has increased the violence and criminality associated with the drugs trade. It is a pity too for SA, where stalled efforts to decriminalise dagga, especially for medical use, will not be helped by UN intransigence.

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32 South Africa: OPED: Time For A Truce In The War On DrugsThu, 21 Apr 2016
Source:Pretoria News, The (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:91 Added:04/22/2016

A More Nuanced Stand Needed

AS THE last century drew to a close, and the West continued to congratulate itself on reaching the "End of History" and the sunny triumph of liberal democracy, the UN announced a bold ambition: to secure a "drug-free world". With communism having been overcome, the cycle of economic boom and bust seemingly broken, declaring war on an illegal, global trade must have felt to some like the next step towards social nirvana.

Eighteen years later the world feels like a very different place on many counts.

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33 South Africa: Whose View Will Dominate in SA's Dagga Debate?Thu, 21 Apr 2016
Source:Business Day (South Africa) Author:Nevin, Tom Area:South Africa Lines:122 Added:04/21/2016

THE stalled Medical Innovation Bill, which seeks legality for dagga as a medical therapeutic adjunct and greater freedom for its recreational use, will need significant surgery if it is to become law.

The bill, tabled by the late Mario Ambrosini in 2014, went through Parliament unopposed, but has been wheel-spinning ever since. It is hopelessly bogged down - primarily over the liberalisation of dagga for commercial and recreational use.

Charles Parry, director of the alcohol, tobacco and other drug research unit at the South African Medical Research Council, says that before medicinal dagga can be made more widely available - for conditions, such as chronic pain, in which the evidence of benefit is strongest - policy makers will need to consider issues such as safe supply and regulation.

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34 South Africa: OPED: Ambriosini's Last Wish Realised in theWed, 20 Apr 2016
Source:Witness, The (South Africa) Author:Burnard, Byron Area:South Africa Lines:109 Added:04/20/2016

THE United Nations is ho sting a special three day session on the global drug problem that ends tomorrow, and cannabis users around the world are hoping their favourite plant will finally be rescheduled as a controlled substance.

Are scheduling would make it easier for researchers to study the plant and for doctors to prescribe it as a medicine. This includes KwaZulu Natal, where the excellent quality of cannabis cultivated in the ideal climate of places such as the Midlands and Zulu land can be given to people who suffer from painful diseases, such as cancer and lupus, or to help the many police officers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

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35 South Africa: Harm Reduction May Be The AnswerWed, 20 Apr 2016
Source:Mercury, The (South Africa) Author:Cullinan, Kerry Area:South Africa Lines:136 Added:04/20/2016

Many at the UN General Assembly this week, not least the Latin American countries, tired of the problems borne of criminalising users, will make the case for harm-reduction programmes, writes Kerry Cullinan.

FOR THE first time in 20 years, the UN has convened a special session on "the world drug problem" amid fierce international debate about whether drug users should primarily be punished or rehabilitated.

The UN General Assembly special session on drugs, which started yesterday and runs until tomorrow, was called after Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala appealed to the body to revise the global approach to illegal drugs.

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36 South Africa: Editorial: Let's Work TogetherWed, 20 Apr 2016
Source:Star, The (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:48 Added:04/20/2016

THE FIGHT to free societies around the world from the burden of illegal drug dealing is a contradiction in terms: a war against the drug dealers, but also a campaign of care for those in the thrall of addiction.

But it's clear that the United Nations and governments around the world have run out of ideas as the international illegal drug trade continues to grow, despite the so-called war on drugs which the global body has championed for at least two decades. And so we commend the UN for convening a special session this week to try to examine what has gone wrong with its grand plans, why and what to do next with what is an ever-ballooning crisis.

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37 South Africa: How to Get Rid of a 'Delusional, Dangerous'Wed, 20 Apr 2016
Source:Star, The (South Africa) Author:Cullinan, Kerry Area:South Africa Lines:147 Added:04/20/2016

Many members of the UN General Assembly are tired of the problems borne of criminalising drug users, and will be making the case instead for harm-reduction programmes, writes Kerry Cullinan

For the first time in 20 years, the UN has convened a special session on "the world drug problem" amid fierce international debate about whether drug users should primarily be punished or rehabilitated.

The UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs, which started yesterday and runs until tomorrow, was called after Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala appealed to the body to revise the global approach to illegal drugs.

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38 South Africa: Column: There Are Solutions to the Gang ProblemFri, 08 Apr 2016
Source:Mail and Guardian (South Africa) Author:Pinnock, Don Area:South Africa Lines:168 Added:04/08/2016

But it would take a government with insight and compassion to implement the necessary remedies

Sometimes, as a journalist, the sadness that follows the information you seek is almost unbearable. The story in question was to get to the root of Cape gangs. And there was time: two years. That's a long while to research a single topic - a chance you seldom get.

With that sort of time you inevitably go beneath the skin of daily journalism and the epidermis of weeklies to muscle and bone. Down that deep came a discovery: gangs are merely a symptom of a profoundly disturbing youth problem that's getting worse.

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39 South Africa: PUB LTE: Cannabis Is NontoxicMon, 04 Apr 2016
Source:Witness, The (South Africa) Author:Govender, Calvin Area:South Africa Lines:38 Added:04/04/2016

JARROD Cronje's article ( The Witness, March 31) refers.

I empathise with the writer and wish him a safe journey to recovery. Like most drug abusers, the writer appears to have experienced many challenges, including poor family support, which may have contributed to low self esteem.

There are many reasons why people may try "hard drugs" (tik, whoonga, Ecstacy, crack). Cannabis is a nontoxic plant that jus t happens t o be grouped with these "hard drugs". If cannabis was a gateway drug, then all our rehab centres would be full of Rastafarians, but that isn't the case. It's a bit like saying that everyone who rides a bicycle as a child will grow up to ride a motorbike. The argument isn't logical.

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40 South Africa: OPED: It's High Time We Make CannabisFri, 01 Apr 2016
Source:Mail and Guardian (South Africa) Author:Parry, Charles Area:South Africa Lines:107 Added:04/01/2016

African regulatory authorities such as the South African Medicines Control Council should consider applications to approve medicinal cannabis for the treatment of chronic pain.

This is especially needed in the case of patients who are not responding well to conventional medication and where the use of medicinal cannabis may have a positive effect on its own or as an adjunct to existing medications.

But regulatory bodies must be guided by good evidence rather than by anecdotal reports or pressure from recreational users promoting a legalisation agenda.

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41 South Africa: OPED: Time To Revisit Sa's Dagga LawsWed, 30 Mar 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Pain, Stephen Area:South Africa Lines:125 Added:03/31/2016

I HAVE yet to read the texts recommended by Clifford Schaffer in his letter "Drug laws not helping" on March 15, but otherwise I agree wholeheartedly with his views.

Richard Nixon, under immense pressure following the US disaster in Vietnam and the looming Watergate affair, desperately needed a rallying cry to divert the public's attention and a "war on drugs" fitted the bill perfectly.

It also put the blame for the thousands of returning heroin-addicted GIs wholly on the drug itself and not on their horrific wartime experiences.

[continues 787 words]

42 South Africa: Killing A LivingSun, 27 Mar 2016
Source:Times, The (South Africa) Author:Tolsi, Niren Area:South Africa Lines:361 Added:03/27/2016

In the mountains of Pondoland in the Eastern Cape, 'intsangu' is green gold: the key to the rural poor's economic survival. Why then, despite global progress towards decriminalising cannabis, are police spraying crops with poison from helicopters? Niren Tolsi investigates.

THE mountains meet the Indian Ocean on the Wild Coast. At Ebulawu, south of Port St Johns, green-topped peaks undulate up towards sheer drops into the blue maelstrom below, where waves crash against cliffs of white, grey and red.

[continues 2891 words]

43 South Africa: Review: The War On Drugs Needs A Big RethinkSun, 20 Mar 2016
Source:CityPress (South Africa) Author:Pinnock, Don Area:South Africa Lines:173 Added:03/20/2016

Gang Town, the City Press Tafelberg Nonfiction Award-winning book by Don Pinnock, is being released this month and is a comprehensive and relatable look at gangsterism on the Cape Flats. This edited extract looks at how the international 'war on drugs' means a war on our youth that need not be happening.

Gang Town by Don Pinnock Tafelberg 280 pages R225

Cape Town has a youth drug problem that's out of control. It's possible to fix it, but it will need a government with both insight and guts. Drugs largely drive Cape Town's stratospheric levels of interpersonal violent crime. Users rob and steal to get them, gangs murder to retain their sales turf and drug lords hold neighbourhoods in thrall by violence. There is a solution to this, but it would take a brave and resolute government to implement it.

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44 South Africa: Dog Shot In Police Raid On Herbalist's HomeSat, 19 Mar 2016
Source:Herald, The (South Africa) Author:Stander, Yolande Area:South Africa Lines:136 Added:03/20/2016

Owner, SPCA Plan to Lay Charges After 'Traumatic Event', Writes Yolande Stander

A GARDEN Route herbalist who says she is battling to come to terms with the trauma of her dog being shot and killed by police will institute a civil claim following what she says was an extremely traumatic event.

The dog was shot when police raided Sharon Price's home in search of dagga.

While the police claim the 11-year-old pitbull named Izzy was shot in self-defence, Price, of Great Brak River near Mossel Bay, and her family believe otherwise.

[continues 822 words]

45 South Africa: PUB LTE: Drug Laws Not HelpingTue, 15 Mar 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa) Author:Schaffer, Clifford Area:South Africa Lines:49 Added:03/15/2016

THE question of what to do about drugs is not a new one. Over the last 100 years, there have been numerous major government commissions around the world that have studied the drug laws and made recommendations for changes.

You can find the full text of all of them at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer under "Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy".

They all reached remarkably similar conclusions, no matter who did them, or where, when, or why. They all agreed that the current laws were based on ignorance and nonsense, and that the current policy does more harm than good no matter what you assume about the dangers of drugs. You don't have to take my word for that. Read them yourself.

[continues 179 words]

46 South Africa: OPED: Review Of DrugsThu, 10 Mar 2016
Source:Cape Times (South Africa)          Area:South Africa Lines:46 Added:03/10/2016

IT IS impossible to know how many people have been deterred from using cannabis out of deference to the law. Decades of prohibition have not prevented the drug from establishing itself as a part of the repertoire of psychoactive substances that British people use for leisure and, for a few, nonrecreational medication. Despite the theoretical threat of prosecution, cannabis use has become sufficiently uncontroversial for stories about David Cameron dabbling in his youth to have surfaced without measurable impact on his standing as prime minister.

[continues 213 words]

47 South Africa: Declaring War On DrugsThu, 10 Mar 2016
Source:Times, The (South Africa) Author:Savides, Matthew Area:South Africa Lines:64 Added:03/10/2016

Africa Has Become Vital Transit Hub for Narcotics

THE government is to urgently re-establish narcotics and firearm units to fight cocaine and heroin drug cartels using South Africa as a transit hub, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko said yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the second Africa-Russia Anti-Drug Dialogue in Durban, Nhleko said although there was no concrete timeline yet in place for the units to be up and running, the SA Police Service and his ministry were working on having this done as soon as possible.

[continues 279 words]

48 South Africa: Rastafarians March On ParliamentThu, 03 Mar 2016
Source:Daily News, The (South Africa) Author:Kalipa, Siyabonga Area:South Africa Lines:50 Added:03/03/2016

THE aroma of dagga smoke hung over Parliament yesterday when about 200 Rastafarians protested outside the House's gates.

The colourful march, by Rastafarians from across the Western Cape, started on Keizergracht and wound its way through Cape Town.

The protesters then handed a memorandum of grievances to Parliament.

Rastafari United Front chairman, Thau-Thau Haramanuba, said they were a recognised faith-based nation, yet were prosecuted and persecuted by the law.

He said their children were chased out of schools and they were victimised by police because of their religion.

[continues 173 words]

49 South Africa: To Smoke The Weed Or Not?Sat, 27 Feb 2016
Source:Star, The (South Africa) Author:Smith, Janet Area:South Africa Lines:85 Added:02/28/2016

Preparing for Seminal Court Battle Over Legalising Cannabis Use

SUPPORTERS of a major constitutional challenge should have been tramping across lush green grass in the valley of Witfontein outside Joburg today for Weedstock 2016.

The Bronkhorstspruit far m was set to be transformed into a fundraising festival for the legalisation of cannabis. It would have run until tomorrow, but was cancelled this week under stringent new laws which police all public gatherings.

Weedstock is an initiative of the Fields of Green for All movement, which supports the efforts of two South Africans and their lawyers to challenge certain laws in terms of the constitution, and see the responsible adult use of cannabis legalised.

[continues 458 words]

50 South Africa: Column: Know Why You're WantedSat, 27 Feb 2016
Source:Citizen, The (South Africa) Author:Duvera, Munya Area:South Africa Lines:70 Added:02/28/2016

Supply and Demand: The Rules Can Play Tricks With the Unwary

Having the best product on the market means very little when no one wants it any more.

Heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, to name a few commonly known drugs, have been a menace to governments worldwide. Billions are spent every year on the war on drugs and a greater portion of that is allocated to battling the supply end.

But the problematic issue is really on the demand side, coming from those who buy and consume drugs.

[continues 377 words]


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