IT’S often called the sleepy hollow and now we know exactly why Pietermaritzburg has been allowed to go to pot.
During a midday stroll through KwaZulu-Natal’s capital this week there were signs that the city was in desperate need of sprucing up and someone to mow the lawn.
The city of choice might be dope in many ways but the overgrown verges were an eyesore with tufts of grass and weed popping out of pavements, which definitely caught our eye.
There, evergreen and lush on Levy Road, sat a dagga bush, ripe for the picking and ready to go up in smoke.
Either it hasn't been spotted before or there is plenty where it came from.
On the city’s official Facebook pages residents complained about its state with one saying “It would be nice if the Msunduzi Municipality would join rate payers who have been keeping the city clean.”
Finding dagga on the street is not surprising though. In November the Independent on Saturday reported that confusion around the decriminalisation of dagga had led to shops openly ‒ but illegally ‒ selling it to the public.
Authorities warned this was a criminal offence, and offenders could face jail time of between five and 10 years, depending on whether the charge was for the dealing or possession of weed. We revealed that buying dagga over the counter was common in the PMB CBD, while some malls and health shops claimed they were licensed by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to openly sell it to the public. The claim was vehemently denied by SAHPRA which said the dagga peddlers were illicit traders and that the police should weed out the problem. “SAHPRA only issues licences for the cultivation of cannabis for export purposes, to manufacture cannabis-containing products, and for providing cannabis for medicinal and/or research purposes. SAHPRA does not issue licences for the sale of cannabis for recreational use, and such practice remains illegal,” it said at the time. When approached, KZN police said they were unaware of the problem. - Additional reporting by Bongani Hans.
Independent on Saturday