MINISTER WANTS DAGGA-SMOKING HOTSPOTS

MBABANE – He has never hidden his support for the legalisation of cannabis.

In doing so, he is the only Cabinet minister to publicly express a different opinion to that of Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini on having cannabis legalised for medicinal and industrial purposes.
Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, was even the only Cabinet minister to appear before the Parliament Select Committee appointed to look into the conditions of granting  a special licence for special cannabis growers for the purpose of medicinal and industrial use.

Members of the committee included Saladin Magagula – Chairperson, Njabulo Mabuza - Vice Chairperson, Dvokolwako constituency’s Gideon Dlamini, Lugongolweni Constituency’s Joseph Souza, and Nkwene’s Sikhumbuzo Dlamini.

concern of abuse

When he appeared before the committee, Mabuza, who declared that he was doing so in his personal capacity, submitted that if there was concern of abuse of the recreational use of cannabis, this should be addressed.
The minister, making an example of Holland (Netherlands) when it came to the recreational use of cannabis, said this could be used to attract tourists.

“In the yesteryears it (cannabis) was not abused, why not have demarcated hotspots as a tourist attraction venture for such. We need to create spaces where we can have smoking zones in the country; this could be a moral stand to attract more tourists. Let’s note that it has been proven that liquor is more dangerous than cannabis, it’s true for any given substance there are dangers of misuse,” Mabuza said. 
The minister’s submissions are contained in the Parliament Select Committee report, which has been tabled and adopted by the House.

In Holland, cannabis is sold openly in hundreds of coffee shops operating across the country’s municipalities.
Despite the profusion of coffee shops, which sell cannabis over the counter, the drug is not legal in the Netherlands. It is, however, tolerated, meaning the authorities will turn a blind eye to those in possession of 5g or less.
Coffee shops are allowed to store a maximum of 500g of cannabis on the premises at any one time.

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