Dagga for Sale in Cape Town, Swellendam & Robertson

Once upon a time it was legal to advertise, buy and sell Dagga in Cape Town. Advert from Cape Argus, 2 January 1896.

In 1923 dagga was made illegal in that year's Customs and Excise Act. Ever since then there have been thousands of arrests with no justification for why.

The health "excuse" used by the government just doesn't wash. There have been no deaths from cannabis. There is some mental illness and adverse reaction for less than 1% of people, but this is no reason to lock up people who aren't affected. The war on drugs is both  puritanical madness and politically attractive which makes it a true recipe for disaster.

An increase in arrests each year is symptomatic of a failing policy. Whatever "they" are doing it is making things worse. If the drugs are habit forming then those with a habit should be punished? Madness!

Also for sale was Dop Brandy.... Dop Brandy for the Dop System... the enslavement of the workers through alcohol. Alcohol is so much more dangerous and is far more freely availble today than it has ever been. A wave of violence, death and misery has accompanied the doubling of the average alcohol consumption in the 8 years from 1998 to 2006.

Uruguay aims to legalize, oversee dagga market

Uruguay's government unveiled a proposal to legalize and monitor the marijuana market, arguing that the drug is less harmful than the black market where it is trafficked.

President Jose Mujica's leftist government will send a bill to Congress shortly on this as part of a package of measures to fight crime in the South American country.

The government will also urge that marijuana sales be legalized worldwide, Defense Minister Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro said, adding the measure could discourage the use of so-called hard drugs.

Marijuana consumption is already legal in Uruguay.

"We want to fight against two different things: one is drug consumption and the other is drug trafficking. We think the ban on certain drugs is creating more problems in society than the drug itself," the minister told a news conference.

"Homicides related to settling scores have increased and that's a clear sign that certain phenomena are appearing in Uruguay that didn't exist before," he said.

The bill would legalize and set rules for the production and sale of marijuana but would not allow people to grow the plant for their own personal use. The government did not give details on how the new system would work.

In Uruguay about $75 million changes hands each year in the illegal marijuana trade, according to official estimates.

As of last year, 20 percent of people between 15 and 65 years old reported they had smoked marijuana at least once and about 5 percent of respondents were habitual users.

The proposal to legalize the marijuana market is one of 15 crime-fighting measures that include tougher penalties for police corruption, crack-cocaine trafficking and juvenile offenders.

- Reuters