Dagga Day celebrations at Golden Harvest Park
NORTH RIDING – Not a single incident of violence was reported at the Dagga Day event
It may not be long until marijuana is legal for medicinal or recreational use in South Arica but it did not matter on Saturday 21 April.
Even though it is still illegal to possess marijuana, this did not stop 3 800 supporters on 21 April from flocking to Golden Harvest Park in North Riding to celebrate the herb.
This was part of the D. Day (Dagga Day) celebrations hosted and organised by Fields of Green for ALL (FGA), a cannabis legalisation non-profit organisation (NPO), and Jules Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke, known as the ‘The Dagga Couple’.
With a belief that the time is nigh for marijuana to be legalised, supporters were not hiding their hopes that the powers that be will allow adults to make a decision on whether to use the herb or not.
The event is an FGA legalisation fundraiser and helps the organisation with funds for months, which is why there was a Cannamarket that showcased plant products from clothing to nutrition, cosmetics and health products and all manner of boutique crafts.
What amazed many on the day was the police presence but with no arrests of those who attended the event.
However, when contacted, Honeydew Police Station spokesperson Balan Muthan said he was not aware of the D.Day event taking place, but added that he will investigate.
Last year’s D.Day was held in Carfax near the Johannesburg CBD, and the event was moved this year to allow for expansion and more people to attend.
“We are really happy with how D. Day worked out. There was a huge police presence at the start of the event but they all went away by 11am and let us relax a bit,” said Stobbs.
“We were happy to have almost 4 000 people come through the gates to give us plenty of support. Our medic was not kept busy and only had one case of dehydration all day.”
Although there was one person arrested for possession of drugs outside the venue, nothing else dampened the mood of the D.Day event.
A man from Middleburg in Mpumalanga, who wanted to remain anonymous, travelled to Randburg solely to attend the event and he appealed to the government for the herb to be legalised.
“We are supporting the cause to legalise marijuana because compared to alcohol, for example, it is less harmful to the body.
“There is no violence associated with users of the herb and most people use it for medicinal purposes. I suffer from depression and I am appealing to the government to legalise it because the medication prescribed to me kills my spirit,” he said.
