BEFORE SAYING 'YES' TO DAGGA CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING

What do you know about dagga?

"Boom" or "Madjat", as it is often known. Will you recognize it if you see or smell it? What are the user’s reactions? What are the dangers of the use of dagga? What are the legal consequences? If you don't know the answers to these questions, kindly read on. If you think you have all the answers, why not read on and test your knowledge?

How Does one know it is dagga?

It is estimated that the drug dagga has been with us since 1 000 BC. It consists of dry khaki-green leaves, twigs and pips. It is usually sold to the public in the form of a "stoo" (dagga rolled into a small packet) or a cigarette called a Zol, Stick, Reefer, Skyf or Joint. It smells and looks quite different from a tobacco cigarette so that you will be able to recognize it instantly, even if someone should try to fool you.

So what's wrong with one Joint?

Dagga does not affect everyone in the same way - your existing state of mind would largely determine your reaction. However, it is known to intensify existing moods: dagga may aggravate feelings of depression up to a point where the person becomes a danger to himself. Self-control disappears, the person becomes exceedingly talkative, laughs easily and generally appears to be silly. Smokers often become thirsty and hungry and their eyes turn red. Heavier dosages cause hallucinations and loss of muscular control. Anyone driving in this condition is as much a criminal as is the drunken driver. Even one joint lowers the oxygen supply to the brain which might account for the dagga smoker's loss of short-term memory.

Is dagga as harmuful to my lungs as cigarette smoke?

Certainly, and it beats cigarettes to the job even if you should smoke only 2-3 joints a day.

It is common knowledge that smokers (cigarette and pipe) are more susceptible to heart diseases and lung cancer than non-smokers - a survey in a hospital's cardiac section has shown that 90% of the patients were smokers. More specifically, it is the substances contained in the brown tar which causes disease.

When you are next offered a joint,remember that it contain 50% more tar than a tabacco cigarette of the same weight.

ut that is not the whole story ...

The tar of a dagga joint contains 70% more of the substance which has been associated with cancerous changes in lung tissue. It simply means that 2-3 joints per day carries the same risk of lung damage as a packet of cigarettes. Research has shown that lung cells which have been exposed to dagga smoke, lost their ability to destroy harmful bacteria.

In short, smoking dagga is merely a quicker way than cigarettes to cause possible irreversible lung damage.