Dagga Leads to Heroin Abuse – Teachers Raise Concerns Over Legalization
Teachers around the country have raised serious concerns regarding the possible legalisation of dagga in South Africa, arguing that it could prove detrimental to the youth because it was “unrealistic to believe that legalised dagga would be controlled and kept out of the hands of young people.
Argument 1: They say … cigarettes and alcohol kill thousands every year and are legal, yet nobody has ever died as a result of smoking dagga and it remains illegal… but…
“What about cigarettes and alcohol?” is a red herring regularly thrown the public’s way by those advocating the legalization of dagga in South Africa
Response A – Hammanskraal, Gauteng
?Unfortunately many learners believe it will help them obtain better marks – I can’t imagine why they think that because we have experience in school of dagga smokers who regularly under-achieve.
“…after break, I cannot teach the learners anything, they are all on a high, using dagga,”
Surveys done at 2 534 schools across South Africa point to the fact that drug abuse is a key reason behind the high failure rates of students and that dagga ranks as the third biggest problem after general drug addiction and teenage pregnancy.
Argument 2: They say.. dagga is categorically not a gateway drug… but
?We have heard this statement twice now on national television with no evidence to support it. CYPSA’s first-hand experience shows clearly that dagga is in fact a gateway drug that leads smokers into the use of other dangerous drugs…
Response B – Laudium, Gauteng
?Dagga is prevalent in the community and our school is heavily exposed to dagga traders and smokers. Legalising dagga will almost give those addicts and drug traffickers an open opportunity to exploit innocent children who are at the mercy of the drug merchants in the community.
Job Opportunities Up in Smoke
A Human Resources manager is quoted as saying that she noted a “big spike” in those who applied for jobs, but tested positive for dagga, once the drug was legalized. By 2016, Colorado had 440 recreational cannabis stores and 531 “medical” dispensaries. A total of almost 1000 outlets where dagga is available to the public!
