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| From left are Captain Mkhize, Constable Khumalo and Constable Ngubane with with 524kg of dagga. |
THE weekend saw 15 suspects, aged between 21 and 57 years old,
arrested with dagga in two police operations by the Uthukela Cluster police in
Amangwe and Ntabamhlophe near Estcourt.
All 15 suspects are due to appear in the Estcourt Magistrate’s
Court.
Police seized some 524 kg of dagga with an estimated street value
of R850 000 — or R1 622/kg, which is wildly inaccurate as the bags shown contain both pricey flowers, or buds, and cheaper crush, popularly used for medicines.
The Amangwe bust saw police seize 39 bags of dagga, weighing
260 kg, in a taxi. They arrested seven suspects. In Ntabamhlophe, police acted
on a tip-off about people from Lesotho selling dagga and seized 264 kg of the
plant.
KwaZulu-Natal acting provincial commissioner Major-General Bheki
Langa praised the police for recovering the dagga. He said this showed the
police “are everywhere to make sure that they apprehend all those who are
breaking the law”.
Langa is referring to the Illicit Drug(s) and Trafficking Act 140, of
1992, which prohibits the possession and dealing of cannabis in its entirety
inside SA.
The constitionality of this law has been challenged on several
fronts, with the charge led by Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke, aka “The Dagga
Couple”. Their “Trial of the Plant’’ is set for the Pretoria high court on July
31 next year. The case is scheduled to last for 19 days in court.
The couple hope this landmark civil case will see SA follow the
eight European and 26 U.S. states that recently started to legalise the use of
medical marijuana.
