By NONSINDISO QWABE and MANDILAKHE KWABABANA
Grannies growing dagga in Willowvale are being targeted by the police.
An early morning raid on a 65-year-old Willowvale woman’s dagga patch yesterday was the third bust police have made recently against elderly women cultivating the famous narcotic herb with healing properties.
The police uprooted the woman’s backyard crop of 85 dagga bushes.
The woman, who was alone during the raid, is in jail pending her appearance in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Monday, according to SAPS Butterworth spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha.
She is the third granny who has been found in possession of dagga in the rural areas surrounding Butterworth in recent times, a trend that has been noticed by the police, said Manatha.
“They think since they are in the bundus, we don’t have information on how they operate. They always plead that they use the plant for medicinal use which is totally false. We are calling for harsher sentences towards them,” said Manatha.
The woman was arrested at her Mahasana village home and was allegedly found in possession of 16 dagga zols and 85 plants worth R3000.
Manatha is up against the courts where leniency is being shown and the legality of private dagga use is being protected.
In August, Western Cape High Court Judge Dennis David ruled that the arrest and detention of a person for growing and using cannabis in their own home was unconstitutional, and gave parliament two years to amend the law criminalising cannabis use in South Africa.
The action drew the ire of activists campaigning for the legalisation of dagga.
Join the Q partner Sharl Henning said: “There is no provision in SA law to be kind to old people”.
Henning said while being found with dagga was still illegal, this was unfair.
He said Join the Q was a non-profit organisation which helped and supported South Africans arrested for cannabis use and possession.
He said: “About 500 to 1000 people a day are arrested for using a plant. South Africans still need to be aware that cannabis use is still completely illegal in the country, and the police can arrest anyone found in possession of dagga. The judge ruled in favour of cannabis, but the law hasn’t been amended and decriminalised.
“You’ll still be arrested and treated like a criminal. This is poisoning such a prosperous future.”
The plants were seized and will be used as evidence against the woman in court. — nonsindisoq@dispatch.co.za
Willowvale grans run gauntlet over dagga
Grannies growing dagga in Willowvale are being targeted by the police.
An early morning raid on a 65-year-old Willowvale woman’s dagga patch yesterday was the third bust police have made recently against elderly women cultivating the famous narcotic herb with healing properties.
The police uprooted the woman’s backyard crop of 85 dagga bushes.
The woman, who was alone during the raid, is in jail pending her appearance in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Monday, according to SAPS Butterworth spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha.
She is the third granny who has been found in possession of dagga in the rural areas surrounding Butterworth in recent times, a trend that has been noticed by the police, said Manatha.
“They think since they are in the bundus, we don’t have information on how they operate. They always plead that they use the plant for medicinal use which is totally false. We are calling for harsher sentences towards them,” said Manatha.
The woman was arrested at her Mahasana village home and was allegedly found in possession of 16 dagga zols and 85 plants worth R3000.
Manatha is up against the courts where leniency is being shown and the legality of private dagga use is being protected.
In August, Western Cape High Court Judge Dennis David ruled that the arrest and detention of a person for growing and using cannabis in their own home was unconstitutional, and gave parliament two years to amend the law criminalising cannabis use in South Africa.
The action drew the ire of activists campaigning for the legalisation of dagga.
Join the Q partner Sharl Henning said: “There is no provision in SA law to be kind to old people”.
Henning said while being found with dagga was still illegal, this was unfair.
He said Join the Q was a non-profit organisation which helped and supported South Africans arrested for cannabis use and possession.
He said: “About 500 to 1000 people a day are arrested for using a plant. South Africans still need to be aware that cannabis use is still completely illegal in the country, and the police can arrest anyone found in possession of dagga. The judge ruled in favour of cannabis, but the law hasn’t been amended and decriminalised.
“You’ll still be arrested and treated like a criminal. This is poisoning such a prosperous future.”
The plants were seized and will be used as evidence against the woman in court. — nonsindisoq@dispatch.co.za
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