REPORT OF THE INTER-DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE ofr the ABUSE OF DAGGA Issued by AuthoritY ,r- { UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA r HE GovIinNurNT PRTNTBR, PREToRTA U.G. No. 3tllgsz G.P.-S.220-1952-3-2,000. i. i.r.'., ii'. rir l.i, @NTBNTS. Page, WsLAnr" SuBi[ssloN To rHE MlNtsrER or SocIAL ' vi IrrtrrnmbN oF DAGGA Plexr., Paragroph, CHAPTER I. REAsoNs roR THE AppotNtMeNt or rIiE Col\rrr{rrrEE.. ' " " Recommendation of Cape C,oloured Commission (1937)" " The Union's International Obligations.. ' Personnel of the Committee 9 Co-operation of the Protectorates. ' . l0 The Terms of Reference. t3 Publicitv civen to the InquirY.. t4 ProcedtiriFollowed in Cbnducting thc Inquiry' CHAPTER II. 17 THE EXTBNT oF THE UsE or Dlccl (INouN Heur) rN THE UMoN" t9 20 23 29 34 40 48 5l 56 60 63 69 74 78 8l 83 The Age of Dagga Offenders'.'.. .. CHAPTER III. 85 Tnr ExreNr oF THE CULTIVATIoN oF DAGGA AND ITs TRAFFTC.'. 85 Wild Growth........ 87 Cultivated Growth. Territorios' 9t Traffic from Neichbourinc 96 bacea Cultivated for Individual Use and for Traffic. ' Wholesale and Retail. 98 Var]6us Methods of Traffic, t05 and Methods of Transporting Dagga... Means 107 Devices tc Avoid Detection serl,ices. lll clandestine Taxi 112 Transportation by Rail. lt8 Profits.... 122 . Exoort of Dagga..... 124 Cuitivation bi-Farmers and Farm labourers. CHAPTER IV. t29 129 r33 136 t39 llm 143 144 145 161 CHATTER V. 173 t'!3 175 179 184 186 187 l9l 192 r9I-" 194 195 CHAPTER VI. Drccl PnoBLsM IN THE Tnngr HrcH CorrausstoN Trnnltoruss. 199 Practices_amonglt the Natives 2M l,ocal 209 212 2ts 216 217 tv Paragrcph. Mrnsunrs 220 221 224' 22s 229 22924A 241-247 248-253 25+255 256-257 258 259 260 261-262 263-26/. CHAPTER VIII, AND OI.IER, FoR DEALING WITII TRE DAGGA EVIL; lNo DrsrnA.BLE CruNcrs rN rnr ExsrrNc 265 Problem 265 266-268 269-289 290-291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 . 302 303 CHAPTER IX. IN RrspEcr or rsB CoNrnor or Nlncorrc 3M 306 Nations 307 309 310 315 316 317 318 Drug Convention 319 321 ::1*: fge among the Various 325 Racial Groups. 326 32G327 328 329 Con 330 331 Nov 332 333 and 334 337 last 338 339 3q 341 343 347 349 351 352 353 354 355 356 35G360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 370.372 373 374-.375 376 379 380 380 38) .382 383 384 ANNpxunB-List of Persons and organisations Who Tendered oral Evidenco and/or Submitted Memoranda. rHE EXISTINO 265 26s REPORT OF THE .... 26Gz68 ..... 269_289 .... 2%-291 292 293 294 x9s 296 INTER.DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE ,i.. 297 .....r 2gg ,.99 300 301 '.,,, 3o2 303 ON TIM 304 306 307 309 3r0 315 ABUSE OF DAGGA. 316 317 318 319 321 325 fsn HoNr-runABLE TIIE MrNrsrrn or Socrel Wrmenr, .... 326 your predecessor decided appoint an Inter-Departmental .... 326-327 On the 3rd August, 1949, to 328 dagga and its abuse as a habit-forming drug. On 4th 329 Committee to inquire into the traffic in 330 Government Notice (No. 2347) announced the appointment of the Committee 331 November, 1949, a 332, Reference. herewith beg to present to you the Committee's report' In the 333 and its Terms of I 334 last chapter an attempt is made to summarize concisely the main features of the report. ,...,^18337 39 3q .... 341 343 347 349 L. VAN SCHALKWIJK, 351 352 Chairman, 353 354 355 356 .. .. 35G360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 .... 37U372 373 .. 374-375 376 379 380 380 38I 382 383 . .'. 384 r - eql Wl1t'r uondscxo qiiroddu teclio4 nlpcuEi posodord oqr '9 rrnbul ,;o \ pur.E ur [1uo areq B uI euop roneSlqo Cord lou ra trsorul? lrrr 's6nrp ,0 IY UIIB'I m H uBIpuI T psodord o 5 lser sJqt I o uucgq8rs c urlselelur q a 's8n:p .Jolur sBq o ,cr?N uo sv 's 'HL - JOI [d o8uero rsr4?arlr \ P.IsJel€rlr IBe SU?{ " "'IBI?N "r0{su3{ ',{qraqur5y lg:8;iiri FFisE[ir; ie ls 0 ulelseA\ BJ uJalseE iliiiiilfiliiiir'ii$ IIIIJECUOC ldtueluoc )l ocrlod p fc11od uolssItu oceJ eql ef,r x ,A\ Si.. .p pr- u qsrq^\ pelsrssE ol o oueldurr A snoue^ I 6{ luof, 0q1 rnJ slr Jo rdeq eqt 3 lopq4em s I'JI'7, s pornoloS rrun oql uJecuo0 p) tnrp trlsCrp€J0 rql ,, s?A{ isnuuroc )uo'I xu roca)I tosYau n CHAPTER I. leeislation which governs the cultivation, sale and oonsumption of dag-ga is contained in Chapter VI of the Medical', Dental aid Pharrnacy Act (No. 13 of 1928), REASONS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE as amended. The reply-that received from the Commissioner COMMITTEE. of Police revealed the traffic in the drug was still considerable and that he regarded the dagga evil RrcouurrplrroN oF Cam Cor,ounsp Col{IvllssroN in a serious light. Notwithstanding drastic action by (1e37). the police to combat the evil, the illegal traffic coftinued on i large scale. He recommended that prov-ision be 1. One of the.recommendations of the Cape Coloured made foi severe penalties for any form of traffic in the Commission of Inquiry, whose report appeared in 1937, drug, including imprisonment without the option of a was " that more active steps be taken to deal with the fine, and thaf an- institution be established for the eradication, sale and consumption of this habit-forming treatment of addicts. He regarded the consumption of drug (dagga) ". The Commission had -expressed dagga as an important contributory factor in the coniern in its report at the widespread use of dagga in commission of crime. the Union, more particularly by members of the Cape Coloured cornmunity. 3. Statistics support the contention of the Com- missioner of Police that there is a widespread demand s 2. In accordance with its responsibility to act as the for,'aid traffic in the drug. During the.years 1940 to E watchdog over the interests of the Coloured people' 1947 at average of 10,000 persons were, prosecuted E the Department of Social Welfare regarded it as one annually-actual for dagga offences. This figure'increased to u of its functions to ensure that the recommendations of 14.016 convictions during 1948 and in 1949 the D necessary attention by the o the Commission received the figure was further:increased to 15,395 convictions. In various authorities concerned with a view to their t[e course of two yeats (L947 to 1949) therefsre, there i implementation. this task the Depattment was B In was an increase of 50 per cent. When 15,000 of its o asdisted by the Coloured Advisory Council (C.A.C.) citizens were convicted in the course of a year for a which functioned under its ,apgiS and one of whose particular natural that the a- type of offence, it is only I duties was soeciflcallv defined ai" assisting the Govern- E iJnion shoulit inquire more closely into the circum- I ment in its ;fiorts to give eftect, as far ai possible, to stances which conduce to that type of offence. Viewed the recommendations of the Cape Coloured Com' merely from the angle of statistics of crime, there would mission of Inquiry of. 1937 ". In pursuance. of this appear to be ample justification for appointing a policy, the Depariment asked the Commissioner of committee to enquire into the abuse of dagga' Police to what extent steps had been taken, or were 'table contemplated, to give eftect to the recommendation 4. The following analyses the convictions concernlng dagga. It should be pointed out that the during 1948 in respect of race and sex:- Eastern Cape.. 15 580 60 3 ?75 t3 1,046 - 2,167 weiti."iCpe............ : : 35 283 44 6 1,741 58 Kimberley.... 2 22t t7 I Itl 7 385 t2 n7 Transkei... ........ 183 t2 ,, Natal...... 35 3,046 2s0 181 123 2 3,639 Transvaal (excluding Wit- watersrand). 23 1,895 98 3 48 5 2,O74 Witwatersrand...... ....,. .. 63 3,33 I 90 j I 393 3,896 Orange Free State..... .. .. .. 8 505 61 27 : 602 Torar-.. 632 14,016 Trre UNron's INrBnNeuoNer OnucltroNs. co-oDerate and be reDresented on the Committee. The Agricirlture desired to be excluded from signatory to three International Conventions Depirtment of -the 5. As a paiticipation on ground that thought that a Narcotic Drugs (1912, 1925 anld 1931), the Union it on consisting of representatives of the other has international bbligations in combating the traffic in Committee drugs, amongst which is included plge3. It is Deparments would suffice. inteiesting to iecord-a circumstance which gives added signiflcanie to the Union's international obligations in ttr-is respect-that it was at the express wish and PERSoNNEL oF TIIE Cotr,tutrren, proposaf of the Union of South Africa in 1923 that 7. The appointment of the Committee and its Terms indian Hemp (dagga) or Marihuana (as it is tnown in of Reference were announced in the Governmenl Latin Americd) was included in the list of narcotic Gazette of 4th November, 1949, in Government Notice druss- which orevious to that date had been restricted No. 2347. The personnel of the Committee is as ah"oit exclusivelv to opium and its derivatives. It is follows:- not proposed to elaborate the Union's international obligitions in respect of narcotic drugs. This will be Dr. L. van Schalkwijk (Department of Social don6 in a subsgquent chapter. The matter is meutioned welfare), Chairman. here onlv as one of the considerations which were borne Mr.