Cele raises concern over dagga ruling

Minister of Police Bheki Cele says the Constitutional Court’s dagga ruling has left police confused.

Cele says it’s unclear when the police should institute arrests.

He was speaking at the official opening of an annual Police Music and Cultural Association Unity Festival in Kimberley.

Parliament has 24-months to pass the Dagga Bill but police say there are grey areas.

Cele says they don’t know how to deal with people in possession of dagga.

“For now, I think before the Parliament passes that law, it’s going to be difficult, because we were still instructed by the Judge to arrest. So, now we don’t know what we are supposed to arrest; how many trees that you’re supposed to plant in your house, or whether we’re supposed to move around with scales to weigh how (much) you are having.”

Cele has raised concern about the ruling.

“I find it troublesome. I grew up in the township. I grew up there. I’ve noticed that sometimes people that smoke dagga get out of their way. But one other thing that we have seen is that dagga is an entry point of other drugs.”

The minister says until they get clear instruction on how to police the usage of dagga, it will be difficult to enforce the law.

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