Dagga could pull SA out of mire

There has been a lot of huffing and puffing about the Constitutional Court ruling that dagga may now be used legally in private. The drug has still not been legalised … but there are some enticing possibilities if that does happen.

If cannabis is made legal, then it has the potential, as a crop, to provide a shot in the arm to the South African economy and make a dent in the poverty which is this country’s most pressing problem.

Pro-legalisation lobbyists claim that one single hectare planted to cannabis can provide up to R850 000 worth of different products, from the cannabidol active ingredient to seed, oils, fibre and stalk biomass.

The crop also does not require much in the way of skill or supporting chemicals to grow. So it is ideally suited to exploitation by small-scale farmers, or even backyard growers.

Properly regulated, cannabis farming could produce billions of rands annually for poorer communities and for the government, through taxes.

The country would also save billions in policing and prosecution costs currently associated with dagga.

A developing country like SA, with pressing socioeconomic needs, must consider all avenues to uplift its people. And the growing of dagga in controlled conditions might just be such an opportunity.