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Newsbrief:
South
Africa
to
Reject
Marijuana
Decriminalization
9/17/04
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/354/dagga.shtml
South Africa's lead anti-drug
agency, the Central Drug Authority, has released a draft paper rejecting
the decriminalization of marijuana, or "dagga" as the herb is locally known,
the Johannesburg Sunday Times reported. The paper will guide the
country's marijuana policy as part of the National Drug Master Plan until
2009.
According to draft paper
lead author, Dorothy Malaka, a social work lecturer at the University of
the North, such reforms would be premature. "Although there is a
case for decriminalizing cannabis, it would be a mistake at this stage,"
she said. "Developed countries like the Netherlands have decriminalized
cannabis, but it is a new policy and the effects of it have not yet been
tested," Malaka asserted -- roughly twenty years after cannabis cafes first
began booming in Amsterdam.
Another Central Drug Authority
member, David Bayever, a lecturer in pharmacotherapy at the University
of Witwaterstrand, told the Times he opposed legalization, saying there
was evidence linking crime and substance abuse. The social service
system could not manage the increase in users if pot were legalized, he
added.
While the draft paper nixed
the idea of decriminalization, it did recommend more research on marijuana's
uses as a medicine. Malaka told the Times dagga has proven therapeutic
uses, citing its use in Canada and the US.
Not everyone involved in
drafting the paper was opposed to decriminalization or legalization.
Professor Charles Parry, director of the Medical Research Council's Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Research Group, told the Times liberalizing cannabis controls
would result in considerable law enforcement savings.
-- END --
|
Issue #354, 9/17/04
Editorial: What Is It About Opium? |
Canada Cannabis Cauldron Bubbling Again |
DEA Brings Traveling "Drugs = Terror" Exhibit to NYC as City Commemorates 9/11 Anniversary |
Drugs and Sports: A New Arena for Drug Reformers? |
Newsbrief: In Gotham Shocker, New York Post Calls for Repeal of Rockefeller Laws |
Newsbrief: Drug Reformer Challenger Defeats Hard-Line District Attorney in Albany, New York |
Newsbrief: Yes, Four Ounces of Marijuana at Home is Legal, Says Alaska Supreme Court |
Newsbrief: Drug Czar Attacks Oregon Medical Marijuana Initiative |
Newsbrief: Oakland Poll Shows Strong Support for Legalization of Marijuana |
Newsbrief: South Africa to Reject Marijuana Decriminalization |
Newsbrief: More Drug Executions in Iran, Saudi Arabia |
Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief: Mexico Shuts Down Three "Youth Treatment" Centers, Deports Kids Back to US |
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