A little while ago an article titled “How Can Dagga Help You” was published on the Eswatini Daily News. The Article was exploring the importance of Dagga use and mainly focusing on how the country can benefit from its legalization. About a month ago, the South African government announced Dagga to be legal in that country. This follows after years of its people taking to the streets their cry for the substance to be made legal. This means that using Dagga in South Africa is no longer prohibited including growing and selling it. But what does this mean for the country itself?
A majority of the population is against the legalization based on their own opinions and with some in full support and standing by the verdict. What’s worth knowing is that the Government recon to have lost out on possibly billions of rands on illegal trades of goods such as Dagga and cigarettes. If however, trading Dagga is legal, then there would be return to the government as per with every legitimate trade in the country and this will boost the country’s economy as they are also foreseeing a massive recession. It is also important to note that with now Dagga being in high demand since its legalization, a new bigger market will venture up and there would be a greater need of supplies and producers of the plant and thus widening the business territory.
The market will also be much safer for Dagga producers and sellers, as it will be controlled by national and business laws and by so doing the killings from Dagga illegal dealings will be surpassed over time as users will be more likely to consume from legal entities. In California in the USA, Medical researchers have legal freedom to study Marijuana (Another name for Dagga) to discover all possible influences and cures in the medical manufacturing field, and through this legalization, African Medical personnel’s will also be able to research and present findings on Dagga.
There is, on the other hand, some bad attached to the drug and the more obvious one is the negative effect it has on its regular users. Just like any other dangerous drug, Dagga has been rumoured over the years to influence its victim with impulsive gestures, less reasoning, and memory loss. A South African teacher was stabbed to death in full view of students in a classroom by a pupil and although it was unclear of the possible motive behind this horrible ordeal. Being under the influence of drugs is one of the causes of such brutal decisions taken. It is most likely for incidents like this to become more common in South Africa, as Dagga will find its way to schools and communities in larger quantities. Take, for EXAMPLE, the recent protests against the popularity of gangsterism in the Cape Town flats and in Johannesburg WestBury. The communities are protesting to the government to take out gangsterism which has become a great problem in the society because of fear of the number of people dying from being killed during rape, robberies and drug exchanges. The bigger cause for the violence is the use of drugs, and the need for each gang to mark its territory within the community and sadly, the innocent people get caught up in the middle of the gang killings. As it stands today in the world, Â Cape Town is named one of the most dangerous places, with Johannesburg not being the safest place to be due to the high uses of drugs and gangsterism.
With that said, the legalization of Dagga will benefit cultural and religious practices, help increase the economy by creating business ventures and also contribute to the medicine manufacturing aspect. It will also, however, have some bad influences on society when abused or used illegally by underage individuals, and so it is vitally important for communities and government to guide the use and supply of Dagga in the country.
NB: All opinions are given in perspective of the legalization of Dagga in South Africa and not in way regards to Swaziland since Dagga remains illegal.
