Weed in South Africa is not just a drug, it’s a right. People of this country believe in weed, I would go so far as to say they worship it. The number of times I’ve entered a conversation with someone about why I don’t smoke weed and how in the Baha’i Faith its use as a means of getting high is not permitted the other person has stood their ground, listing reasons and arguments for why it is the greatest invention given to man. You seriously can’t win, they love their weed. Usually a conversation of this nature will proceed with the other person packing a bong, smoking a cone and then offering one to you as if they sincerely believed their point had gotten through to you and you were miraculously converted. Amongst the greatest argument of the defenders of weed is that it’s a natural substance, how can it be bad for you if it was God who put it on this Earth? It’s a valid argument, it is a natural substance and it is known to have medicinal qualities, I mean I use hemp body butter and it is amazing, unfortunately humanity lacks self control, lacks discipline, lacks maturity and the misuse of weed is much greater than its intended purpose as a medicinal substance and so it is better to ban its use rather than allow it with exceptions because knowing us humans we will twist everything to justify ourselves. “My savings account is only for emergencies and the need to own these shoes definitely falls under that category.” Counter argument number 2 is that God also put poisonous berries like Yew, Jasmine and Daphne on the planet and other deadly plants like the castor bean and daffodils as well as rattle snakes, redback spiders and wasps... are you going to smoke those too?
So people like weed in South Africa, what’s so special about that, people smoke weed all over the place? Yes, yes, yes this is true but what baffled me was how common and normal it was here. People here are not discrete about lighting a joint and passing it round. People here smoke joints like they’re cigarettes. They pull out their folded bit of paper or little zip-lock bag, crunch up the grass that’s inside, place the weed on a thing of paper, roll it up, lick it shut, find something to press down the insides with, twist the end, spark their lighter, light it up and pull it in... just like that. Anywhere and everywhere people are smoking weed. Sitting in a taxi, you smell weed, sitting on the grass, you smell weed, at a friend’s braai, you smell weed, walking in the street, hanging at the university, in the living room, in the bedroom, it doesn’t matter where you are or what time it is there is always someone smoking weed. The comfort with which people get high in public is really something I marvel at. There is no shame whatsoever in smoking weed, actually it’s quite the opposite. Like I said before people use drugs in Australia as well and weed is definitely amongst them but not to the same extent and not amongst such a large portion of society.
Weed in Australia from what I know, is kinda thought of as a lower class drug. Being a pothead which is a regular smoker is not a good thing. To smoke it occasionally is considered ok but regular use is looked down on. That’s the major difference, the other big thing is girls and weed. A girl smoking a bong everyday is not a nice look. It’s trashy and low and not attractive at all. Here in South Africa girls use it just as much as guys do. I was sitting in the living room at a friend’s house when some people came over. Just sitting with them having a conversation and all of a sudden one of the girls pulls out a bong, packs it, lights it up and smokes it, right there in the living room, right in front of me a person she had just met. She didn’t ask me if it was ok
It’s interesting actually when people ask me about marijuana culture in Australia and I tell them it’s not looked highly upon, they get really confused. Especially when I talk about girls smoking and how it has this junkie reputation that comes with it. From my conversations with people they tell me that weed makes them think better, clears their minds, makes them reach a more spiritual level and just makes them feel good. They love getting high these South African kids.
So I don’t know if you can get a sense of what I mean in terms of the socially acceptable nature of a drug. I guess if South Africans went to Sydney they might find shocking how widely used certain other drugs are compared to here but from what I know of Australia people are not that open about their drug use even if the levels of use are higher which I doubt. Police here don’t really bother with enforcing the laws against marijuana use, if they did half this country would be arrested. One major thing is that no one fights back when they’re high, governments like a society that is passive and weed does that; it creates passivity. People here may not have much money for stuff but there’s always money for weed. Pass that dutch, no stress baby.
I predict many more arguments regarding this plant to arise in the future, it really is a drug that the people of this country adore. They even go so far as to deny the long term side effects when I name them such as memory loss, muscle degeneration, lung damage...etc (my memory of grade 10 Health class is still strong) so it is clearly not an issue that any one is campaigning to resolve. I think I’ll sum up by sharing what the Baha’i Writings say about the use of marijuana and drugs in general and maybe they will inspire someone to see the logic of these things. There are better ways to get high.
'Regarding hashish you had pointed out that some Persians have become habituated to its use. Gracious God! This is the worst of all intoxicants, and its prohibition is explicitly revealed. Its use causeth the disintegration of thought and the complete torpor of the soul. How could anyone seek this fruit of the infernal tree, and by partaking of it, be led to exemplify the qualities of a monster? How could one use this forbidden drug, and thus deprive himself of the blessings of the All-Merciful?...
'Alcohol consumeth the mind and causeth man to commit acts of absurdity, but... this wicked hashish extinguisheth the mind, freezeth the spirit, petrifieth the soul, wasteth the body and leaveth man frustrated and lost.'
‘It should be noted that the above prohibition against taking certain classes of drugs does not forbid their use when prescribed by qualified physicians as part of a medical treatment.’
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 239)
‘Among these latter is smoking tobacco, which is dirty, smelly, offensive -- an evil habit, and one the harmfulness of which gradually becometh apparent to all. Every qualified physician hath ruled -- and this hath also been proven by tests -- that one of the components of tobacco is a deadly poison, and that the smoker is vulnerable to many and various diseases. This is why smoking hath been plainly set forth as repugnant from the standpoint of hygiene....’
‘My meaning is that in the sight of God, smoking tobacco is deprecated, abhorrent, filthy in the extreme; and, albeit by degrees, highly injurious to health. It is also a waste of money and time, and maketh the user a prey to a noxious addiction. To those who stand firm in the Covenant, this habit is therefore censured both by reason and experience, and renouncing it will bring relief and peace of mind to all men. Furthermore, this will make it possible to have a fresh mouth and unstained fingers, and hair that is free of a foul and repellent smell. On receipt of this missive, the friends will surely, by whatever means and even over a period of time, forsake this pernicious habit. Such is my hope.’
(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 147)
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