LESOTHO, Swaziland and the Transkei have been identified as the prime suppliers of dagga to South Africa?s Rastafarians in an affidavit handed to the Constitutional Court by Rastafarian lawyer Gareth Enver Prince.
The Star newspaper reported that Prince, who is fighting for dagga’s legislation, said several townships were also identified as good providers of the drug.
Prince’s resolve to have the herb legalised stemmed from a Cape Law Society decision not to accept him into their fold because of his two convictions for dagga possession. He took the society to the Cape High Court, which ruled against him.
Prince then went to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which also ruled against him, saying it could not grant exemption to a statutory prohibition.
The matter was then taken to the Constitutional Court, where Prince said dagga was an integral part of his religion.
The Constitutional Court first heard Prince’s case last year, when it ordered him to furnish more information regarding the religion and its practices.
Prince this week submitted an affidavit of 200 pages, revealing that Lesotho, Swaziland and Transkei are the main sources of dagga, which the Rastafarian faithful usually buy in 10kg bags.
“If we do not have enough of the holy herb, or are between consignments, we obtain it locally in the townships. We do not support, nor want to support gangsters and dealers.”
Rastafarians used dagga in foods such as soup, cake, bread and stews. It was sometimes drunk as tea and used as a flu or asthma medicine, he said.
The respondents to Prince’s affidavit, including the Cape Law Society, the national director of public prosecutions and Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, are expected to reply by February 14.