Why haven’t we legalised cannabis yet South Africa?
Or at the very least gone the decriminalisation route as is now supported by SA’s pre-eminent drugs policy watchdog, the Central Drug Authority? Seven years have passed since the founding of the Dagga Party of South Africa by Jeremy Acton. The Dagga Couple’s Jules Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke were raided by the South African Police Service back in 2010. The last time that cannabis was even mentioned in a speech in parliament was in the run up to our last round of elections. As we continue to be on a path, seemingly towards nowhere, other African countries are increasingly making noises about softening their own laws in this regard.
Most recently two days ago, a member of the Swazi parliament Mr Hans Steffen spoke out about the possibility of his country being able to pay a grant worth 2000 emalangeni (about R2000) to every elderly citizen just by legalising the cultivation and sale of cannabis and the manufacture of cannabis based products. Mr Steffen also asserted that America is not against the use of the cannabis plant, because of the amount of money such a legally regulated industry can generate.
Malawi and Ghana are two more Sub-Saharan African countries that have not only voiced their support for a change in attitude towards cannabis, but are actually busy taking solid steps to implement alternative policies. In the case of the former a new hemp industry has been given government approval and backing. This new hemp industry is being touted as a means to help alleviate poverty through reinvigorating both the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in the country’s economy. In Ghana the government have become increasingly worried about the “abuse of cannabis”, which has become commonplace due to a laissez-faire attitude to cannabis by the general public. Cannabis use is in fact so normalised and widespread in Africa’s top consumer nation that the Executive Secretary of the country’s Narcotics Control Board, Yaw Akrasi Sarpong has stated that cannabis is already “virtually legalised”.
A sign of this is that cannabis can be found in cosmetics and hair products used by women in the country and that it is smoked by Ghanaians of all social classes including respected professionals. The Ghanaian police have publicly agreed with this position and called for decriminalisation in order to help combat the abuse of the substance. According to a video on CCTV four days ago, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of the Interior James Agalga said under a proposed new bill tabled before parliament, cannabis users will be given medical care and rehabilitation, rather than prosecution and incarceration.
Back here at home in SA it is alarming how frequent cannabis busts are becoming around the country. Not a day goes past without at least two or three cannabis busts being displayed by members of the South African Police Service. Is this really an appropriate way to spend valuable and limited crime fighting resources given that the more time is spent on trying to stop people from growing, possessing, selling and using cannabis the less time the SAPS can spend on going after violent criminals like rapists, armed robbers and murderers? It does beg the important question as to why the authorities appear to see cannabis as a bigger threat and priority for law enforcement than the epidemic of serious crime that is afflicting communities the length and breadth of South Africa.
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