While a Constitutional Court ruling recently legalised the cultivation for personal use, and the use of dagga in one’s own home, a Mitchell’s Plain ward councillor has called on the community to continue to warn children about the dangers of drug use.
“Children are being killed every day. Young people abusing dagga affects the rest of the community,” Ward 79 councillor Solomon Philander said at a recent meeting of the Beacon Valley CPF sub-forum meeting.
“Videos have gone viral of pupils using this drug and it’s a difficult sight to fathom.”
Mr Philander said the community needed to educate one another on the “effects of dagga, as it is the same as using drugs”.
This drug is being accepted by people, validating the use of it, said Mr Philander.
“If the family is healthy, the community will be healthy too.”
At the meeting, Liezel Booysen and Patricia Williams of the Safeline Child Abuse, Treatment and Prevention Centre, urged residents to be aware of the needs of children, and consider their feelings.
They also gave parents tips on how to identify abuse in and outside of the home.
A launch of the anti-gang unit will be held at 8am on Friday November 2 at the Downberg Sports Club, in Hanover Park.
Representatives of SAPS, CPFs, neighbourhood watches and community members will talk about the gang infiltrated communities of Cape Town and what will be done to address the associated problems.