With the prospect of jail time hanging over his head, AbaThembu king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo had some sober advice for his 23-year-old son and heir, Azenathi Zanelizwe.

"Do not smoke dagga, don't abuse alcohol - and politics are not for royals," the king advised.

In an interview in the presence of his son, he urged his scion to hold fast to the church and focus his energies on empowering himself through education "to develop our nation".

The controversial 50-year-old king's prospects of remaining a free man hang by a thread. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Supreme Court of Appeal last week.

A former policeman has been arrested for manufacturing cannabis oil.

Interest in the product is growing due to a belief by some that cannabis oil can be used as an alternative treatment or pain relief for cancer‚ and even other illnesses such as Alzheimer's‚ epilepsy and Lyme disease. The late IFP MP Mario Oriano-Ambrosini‚ who had campaigned for the legalisation of medical marijuana‚ had admitted to using cannabis oil to treat his late-stage lung cancer.

The former police officer was allegedly running a sophisticated hydroponic Tetrahydrocannabinol drug lab in Richards Bay‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ to manufacture the cannabis oil.

“This drug is reportedly worth about one thousand rand a gram overseas‚” the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement.

After reporting a green session on Tuesday, the stock price of Plandai Biotechnology Inc (OTCMKTS:PLPL) is once again moving south on the chart. Yesterday, the stock declined more than 3% to close the trading session at $0.125. The company recently confirmed the news of a extended deal with USN following which it will supply Phytofare® catechin complex to the respective company and its associates.

The VP of Sales and Marketing for Plandai said that USN acknowledges the many benefits of phyto-availability™. In fact the group is keen to use the Phytofare component in their absolute best quality products sold to clients. Phytofare® is believed to be a magical component that supplies active ingredients to the blood stream.

The Colorado Department of Revenue reported $70 million in tax revenue from the sale of recreational marijuana, between July 2014 and June 2015. This history-making record easily topped the $42 million revenue the state made from alcohol in the United States within the same period of time. Marijuana has been so productive in Colorado that the state issued a tax holiday for marijuana items, proving that legalisation and proper regulation of the drug can significantly contribute its quota to revenue in any economy.

Pietermaritzburg - Quick work by police officers resulted in two massive consignments of dagga being confiscated in Ladysmith and Newcastle on Monday.

In two separate cases, officers from both stations recovered more than R1 million worth of the drug.

In the first case, Newcastle police were doing their rounds when they saw a suspicious vehicle parked on the side of the N11 highway.

The officers searched the vehicle and found 58 bags containing 2 000 kg of dagga to the street value of more than R500 000. The driver, 33, believed to be from Bergville and en route to Gauteng to deliver the drugs, was arrested and charged with dealing in dagga.

The Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA) is not against medicinal dagga‚ does confess “to having major concerns surrounding the way the issue has been handled to date”.

In a statement on Tuesday‚ the CYPSA warned that “usual best practices should under no circumstances be ‘fast tracked’ or findings ignored due to public pressure and demand” before it could be registered with the Medicines Control Council.

“This is an issue that is firmly rooted in the realm of science‚ and the safety and suitability of cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal use is one that can be decided by scientific means alone‚” the CYPSA said.

The organisation said it is concerned that some see the Medical Innovation bill as a “Trojan horse”.

The Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA) is not against medicinal dagga‚ does confess “to having major concerns surrounding the way the issue has been handled to date”.

In a statement on Tuesday‚ the CYPSA warned that “usual best practices should under no circumstances be ‘fast tracked’ or findings ignored due to public pressure and demand” before it could be registered with the Medicines Control Council.

“This is an issue that is firmly rooted in the realm of science‚ and the safety and suitability of cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal use is one that can be decided by scientific means alone‚” the CYPSA said.

The organisation said it is concerned that some see the Medical Innovation bill as a “Trojan horse”.

Cape Town - A tip-off led to the discovery of a fully equipped hydroponic dagga laboratory in Table View in Cape Town on Friday.

Police spokesperson Constable Noloyiso Rwexana in a statement said officers attached to the Cape Town K9 Unit responded to information of suspected illegal activity at a house in Sunningdale.

"Police went to the address in Glen Eagle Road where they uncovered a fully equipped hydroponic dagga laboratory in various rooms in the house," she said.

"Dagga plants of different sizes, lights, fans and other equipment valued at a substantial amount were confiscated."

In March 2016, South Africa will bear witness to a historical court case that seeks to have one of the oldest and most draconian anti-cannabis laws in the world overturned. In the first of a series of articles leading up to the case, KEVIN BLOOM looks at some of the lesser-known characters in the drama, from the Khoi to Connie Mulder.

They have a sort of hemp growing in this country (Scythia), very like flax, except in thickness and height; in this respect the hemp is far superior: it grows both spontaneously and from cultivation …

—Herodotus, 484–425 BC