In a policy brief published by the Medical Research Council on January 5, the medicinal value of cannabinoids was officially – and historically – recognised in South Africa. Three days later, the president signed into law the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Act of 2015, a piece of legislation that theoretically allows Big Pharma to feed our dagga to us in pill form – or, if we like, through a straw. KEVIN BLOOM reports.

1. For the winners

Las Vegas—A new paper provides the first compendium of controlled substance classification systems around the world, revealing a broad spectrum of regulations but little consensus as to what works best.

Cape Town – Police officers discovered a plot of towering dagga plants between shacks in a Rastafarian informal settlement in Cape Town on Thursday.

The Trio Crimes and Gangs Unit visited the Marcus Garvey community in Philippi on Thursday morning after a tip-off, Western Cape police spokesperson Constable Noloyiso Rwexana said on Friday.

Officers dug up and confiscated the plants - with a total estimated street value of R1.7m - between 05:30 and 10:00. 

Four men and a woman were arrested on charges of illegal cultivation of dagga. The group was due to appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court later on Friday.

The Ogun State command of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has impounded a truck load of cannabis sativa packaged as biscuits and cheese balls.

The 3,542.25kg bags of banned narcotics were intercepted by officials of the NDLEA at the Odeda axis of Ijebu-Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government in Ogun State.

Two suspects – Ihenacho Chinweuba (27) and Uche Enuosa (33) – were arrested in connection with the seizure.

The Ogun NDLEA Commander, Bala Fagge, said the shipment was meant for consumption in Ogun and Lagos states.

“A white Mercedes Benz Truck with registration No: Lagos KJA132XN was intercepted at Odeda axis of Ijebu-Igbo, Ijebu North Local Government.

In April 2016, the United Nations will have a chance to forge a smarter way forward for global drug policy.

In this video, George Soros, Bryan Stevenson, Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, and a number of drug policy experts and advocates discuss why the time for reform is now. 

The Pirate Party of Tunisia has set the decriminalization of cannabis as a priority in their next elections. Earlier the main political parties have committed to address this. However, the State has been passive regarding the revision of Law 52 on consumption of illegal substances. This law has been used to incarcerate more than 1,500 youths since the last elections in 2014.

The Pirate Party of Tunisia has noted several negative developments regarding changing this law:

December 19, 2015 (NYALA) - Police in South Darfur said that it has burned more than five thousands hectares of cannabis and seized 60,870 weed heads in Sango and Al-Radoom areas in the largest anti-drug operation in the area.

South Darfur’s police director Ahmed Osman Mohamed, who addressed the national police day celebration Saturday in the state’s capital, Nyala, said the police managed to destroy 5,000 hectares of cannabis, pointing to fierce clashes with the drugs traffickers.

He noted the police arrested several drugs traders and seized large amounts of cannabis which were in their possession, underscoring the perpetrators would be brought before trial following the completion of the investigation.

On Tuesday, the country woke up to newspaper headlines about a cabinet minister calling for the legalisation of dagga – a widely grown plant in the country.

That minister is the otherwise reserved Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza, the Mhlambanyatsi Member of Parliament and Minister of Housing and Urban Development.

The minister’s submission before the august House stunned many, mainly because of his restrained manner and mostly because Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini had appeared to indicate that legalising dagga was currently out of the question because the issue still needed to be extensively debated.

Without dismissing the minister, as some prominent individuals have done, it would be prudent to probe if his submission holds any water.