A large dagga plantation discovered in Saulsville, Pretoria West, has seen scores of residents rushing to harvest the banned herb

When the dagga field was discovered growing behind a park on Sunday both smokers and non-smokers flocked to gather the illicit plant.

Most of the dagga was gone by Wednesday. Only three bushes which were in deep undergrowth and inaccessible remained.

One man, 32, who did not want to be named, said he filled two refuse bags with dagga.

"I am set for at least a year if I smoke alone," he was quoted as saying.

"All I need now is a concealed spot where I can dry it."

A friend of his, who does not smoke the weed, said he filled a 25-litre bucket for his friends and relatives who were smokers.

Tshwane metro police destroyed two other large dagga plantations, each the size of a rugby field, in recent years. The destroyed fields had a potential harvest with an estimated street value of around R5 million.