Hippies spoilt it with dagga use

Now that the dust has settled surrounding the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the dagga law should be revisited and changed, remember the 1972 dagga law.

People smoked it. Then came the damn hippies with their “make love not war” and LSD, Black Bombs, Purple Hearts etc.

These people had to get drugs and thus committed crimes. Murder, robbery, housebreakings and theft. When they got caught these yellow bellied freaks pleaded in court that they smoked dagga. At that stage drugs were still stigmatised.

The lawmakers of that time then passed the new drug law of 1972:

Possession of dagga: five years in jail.

Dealing in dagga: 10 years in jail.

Cultivating the weed: 15 years in jail. Suddenly the jails became overcrowded.

Before 1972, there was a R5 or five days fine. In many instances the cops offered you an alterna- tive. Official or fatherly: official you pay the fine, fatherly you took a punch or two to the gut.

Now I may grow the stuff and smoke it without consequences. We’ve come full circle.

I gave up the weed 15 years ago after smoking it for 30-plus years. The problem with dagga is that of mixing your chemicals. Alcohol is much more dangerous than dagga. Dries E