Johannesburg - The intersection be tween religion and constitutionalism has always been an uncomfortable one. Whether in the judicial or the political arena, one walks a tightrope in dealing with religion, especially in a constitutional democracy.

Those in public office need to be especially careful what they say about religion as they represent a multireligious society.

No one knows this better than Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, who has had to negotiate this tightrope when he had expressed his views on religion.

The chief justice is the highest judicial officer and a public declaration of his faith is bound to ruffle feathers because many could take it as an endorsement of one religion over another, and this would not bode well for a democracy.

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Johannesburg - There will be no immediate discussion on the decriminalisation of cannabis, only a discussion on whether it can be used medicinally, Deputy Minister of Social Development Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu said at a conference on the topic on Thursday.

"'We are not going to have a broader discussion on decriminalisation," she said at a conference titled ''Cannibis for medicinal Use, Yes or No?'' held in Benoni.

But, she warned that all aspects of the use of cannabis, commonly known as dagga in South Africa, should be broached before any decision is made on whether medicinal use will become legal."

''I am neutral," she said, but the robust debates South Africans are known for needed to happen.

Are the medical benefits of cannabis being over-hyped? The government is looking into this at a conference about the safety and dangers of cannabis use in South Africa.

Dagga may have some medicinal qualities, but are the benefits of legalising it in South Africa worthwhile?

This is up for discussion at a two-day event by the Department of Social Development and the Central Drug Authority (CDA) taking place in Benoni on Thursday.

The Cairo and Giza Tobacco Traders Association demanded a serious review of a proposal to legalise the hashish trade, submitted to the Legislative Reform committee headed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.

Legalising such a trade could contribute quickly and effectively in decreasing the national budget deficit within a few years, compared to other economic methods, head of the Tobacco Traders Association Osama Salama said.

Salama added that the government should learn the psychological and scientific rule, which says “the forbidden is desirable…and the desirable is forbidden”. He said that if hashish is available, its demand will be reduced. At the same time, the government can impose taxes, and place controls and instructions on its trade.

n addition to expert witnesses, the trial of the plant needs suitably qualified individuals and organisations to become Friends of the Court.
 

What is an Amicus Curiae?

A RASTAFARIAN lawyer convicted before on two counts of dagga possession appeared in the Simons Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Gareth Prince, 42, his wife Juanita Adams, 40, and daughter Samantha Adams, 19, were arrested at their Glen Cairn home on Wednesday.

His pro bono lawyer, Naven Pillay, told the court Prince used the substance on a “strictly religious basis”.

In 2002, the Cape Law Society refused to admit Prince as an attorney because he had two criminal convictions for possession of dagga.

At the time, Prince said he would not stop smoking what is regarded by Rastafarians as a “holy herb”.

He later lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for the substance to be legalised.

But this was rejected.

SAPSPolice spotted a group of men carrying the bags and accompanying 30 donkeys near Sandlwana.

Durban - In one of the biggest dagga busts in KwaZulu-Natal, police arrested 13 men using 30 donkeys to smuggle dagga worth millions of rand across the mountains from Lesotho into South Africa.

In a joint raid, mounted units from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the police made the arrests in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park.

In total, 66 bags of dagga with a street value of R3.6 million were seized.

The 13 men, aged between 25 and 33, were expected to appear in the Bergville Magistrate’s Court on Friday for being in possession of dagga and an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Hinduism, Judaism, and the Rastafari movement of Jamaica may seem on the surface to have nothing in common with each other. But if we take a closer look there are things that the three spiritual traditions have in common. These commonalities grew out the colonial experience of Jamaicans.