It would be illegal under an international treaty to which South Africa is a signatory to allow people to grow their own dagga for medicinal use.
This is according to the president of the International Narcotics Board‚ Dr Lochan Naidoo.
The board‚ part of the United Nations‚ monitors multiple countries compliance with international treaties on drugs that they have signed.
Naidoo‚ was speaking at the Department of Social Development’s two-day meeting designed to hear various views on the legalisation of dagga for medical purposes.
Naidoo‚ a doctor who used to work at drug rehabilitation centres‚ told the audience that The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs treaty ensures that countries will ban the sale and production of narcotic drugs such as heroin‚ marijuana and ecstasy.
There are 185 countries which are signatories to this convention‚ including South Africa.
He said the 23 US states that had legalised marijuana for medical use were in breach of the Single Convention Treaty‚ to which the US was a signatory.
Naidoo said the UN board welcomed “sound scientific” and “rigorous” research into using marijuana for medical use.
But if marijuana was used medically‚ the same dose would be needed each time as in the case of other medicines.
Africa was increasingly being used as a place to grow drugs for the international trade‚ specifically poppies for heroin use on the continent’s east coast‚ he said.
He said the only seizures of heroin in the Indian Ocean were accidental and were as a result of ships patrolling the east African waters for piracy.
Lawyer Luyanda Mtshotshisa‚ speaking at the event‚ said use of marijuana was illegal under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. He said when a high court ruled that rastafarians could not use marijuana for religious purposes‚ the court cited the international treaties which made use and sale of marijuana illegal.
The late IFP member of parliament Mario Oriani-Ambrosini sponsored a private member’s bill that seeks to legalise the use of marijuana for medical use.
Ambrosini used marijuana to help him control his pain when he had late-stage lung cancer.
He committed suicide in August 2014
International treaty stymies dagga cause
It would be illegal under an international treaty to which South Africa is a signatory to allow people to grow their own dagga for medicinal use.
This is according to the president of the International Narcotics Board‚ Dr Lochan Naidoo.
The board‚ part of the United Nations‚ monitors multiple countries compliance with international treaties on drugs that they have signed.
Naidoo‚ was speaking at the Department of Social Development’s two-day meeting designed to hear various views on the legalisation of dagga for medical purposes.
Naidoo‚ a doctor who used to work at drug rehabilitation centres‚ told the audience that The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs treaty ensures that countries will ban the sale and production of narcotic drugs such as heroin‚ marijuana and ecstasy.
There are 185 countries which are signatories to this convention‚ including South Africa.
He said the 23 US states that had legalised marijuana for medical use were in breach of the Single Convention Treaty‚ to which the US was a signatory.
Naidoo said the UN board welcomed “sound scientific” and “rigorous” research into using marijuana for medical use.
But if marijuana was used medically‚ the same dose would be needed each time as in the case of other medicines.
Africa was increasingly being used as a place to grow drugs for the international trade‚ specifically poppies for heroin use on the continent’s east coast‚ he said.
He said the only seizures of heroin in the Indian Ocean were accidental and were as a result of ships patrolling the east African waters for piracy.
Lawyer Luyanda Mtshotshisa‚ speaking at the event‚ said use of marijuana was illegal under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. He said when a high court ruled that rastafarians could not use marijuana for religious purposes‚ the court cited the international treaties which made use and sale of marijuana illegal.
The late IFP member of parliament Mario Oriani-Ambrosini sponsored a private member’s bill that seeks to legalise the use of marijuana for medical use.
Ambrosini used marijuana to help him control his pain when he had late-stage lung cancer.
He committed suicide in August 2014
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