Durban - The battle to legalise the use of dagga could reach the Constitutional Court if a Howick farmer has his way.

John Lawrence Strydom, 44, on Monday launched a Pietermaritzburg High Court application against the minister of justice and the office of the director of public prosecutions.

Strydom wants criminal proceedings against him for the possession and cultivation of dagga to be stayed.

This was in order for him to approach the Constitutional Court to have certain parts of the Illicit Drugs and Trafficking Act of 1992 and the Medicines and Related Substances Controlled Act of 1965, relating to the use, possession of and dealing in dagga, declared to be in violation of the Bill of Rights.

n addition to expert witnesses, the trial of the plant needs suitably qualified individuals and organisations to become Friends of the Court.
 

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A RASTAFARIAN lawyer convicted before on two counts of dagga possession appeared in the Simons Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Gareth Prince, 42, his wife Juanita Adams, 40, and daughter Samantha Adams, 19, were arrested at their Glen Cairn home on Wednesday.

His pro bono lawyer, Naven Pillay, told the court Prince used the substance on a “strictly religious basis”.

In 2002, the Cape Law Society refused to admit Prince as an attorney because he had two criminal convictions for possession of dagga.

At the time, Prince said he would not stop smoking what is regarded by Rastafarians as a “holy herb”.

He later lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for the substance to be legalised.

But this was rejected.

SAPSPolice spotted a group of men carrying the bags and accompanying 30 donkeys near Sandlwana.

Durban - In one of the biggest dagga busts in KwaZulu-Natal, police arrested 13 men using 30 donkeys to smuggle dagga worth millions of rand across the mountains from Lesotho into South Africa.

In a joint raid, mounted units from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the police made the arrests in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park.

In total, 66 bags of dagga with a street value of R3.6 million were seized.

The 13 men, aged between 25 and 33, were expected to appear in the Bergville Magistrate’s Court on Friday for being in possession of dagga and an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Bloemfontein - The Dagga Party of South Africa is highly disappointed by not making the necessary deadline to contest in this year's elections.

Party leader Jeremy Acton said the party still has high hopes for the future, reports The Citizen.

“Dagga legalisation is like a dagga bush, it keeps growing,” Acton said.

The lists of candidates for each party (national, regional and provincial) will be published for public inspection from 28 March. 

The party's hopes lay in the hands of a Canadian sponsor, and also raising money with the public's help. They did however, not succeed, and it was estimated they could only raise R120 000.

I would like to introduce you to the face of prohibition in South Africa. The first person in a while to come out and shake her fists at the prospect of cannabis legalisation. Brimming with passion and pessimism.

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If you’ve ever had that feeling of just wanting to grab someone by the shoulders and rattle them till they see sense. This was one of those days. With a faith that would shame that of any religion, this young lady trumpeted the evils of dagga. Thinking that sheer volume of voice would supersede the need to make any sense. A whirlwind not worth trying to out shout.

Battling terminal lung cancer, Mario Ambrosini passed away during the early hours of Saturday morning at the age of 53. A flurry of tributes have since followed from leading political parties and judicial representatives.

"We have no hostile position towards that, it will be looked into," he said in an online chat on social networking site Facebook on Tuesday.

He was responding to questions for an hour ahead of the May 7 general election.

Several controversial questions and remarks were put to Malema, including issues around homosexuality, electronic tolling, and his close relationship with former ANC Youth League leader Floyd Shivambu.

Malema said if the Economic Freedom Fighters came to power after the elections, it would get rid of e-tolling.

"We [will] remove e-tolls immediately when we take over. Physically," he said.

On fighting crime, Malema said he would empower and retrain police officers to focus more on criminals rather than protests.