Doreen Mokgolo
For months, the woman sold delicious muffins from her home near the gates of the primary school, and business was booming.
But it turns out she was baking the cookies using dagga and the little ones became sick and were forced to miss school.
The 33-year-old woman’s cover was blown when a 12-year-old boy was sent home from school with a high temperature.
The boy who attends the Mkhwanazi Primary School in Tsakani, Ekhurhuleni bunked school so many times that his mother intervened.
“I immediately went to the school to investigate and I was told that my son and a number of other learners were constantly bunking school,” she said.
“A meeting was called with other parents and when the kids were interrogated they said they always felt sick after eating the muffins they bought at a house near the school.”
The angry parents marched to the home, where they discovered dozens of cannabis plants as well as the baked goods that were a hit with the kids.
The psychoactive ingredient in dagga is called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC causes the “high” effect of smoking or eating dagga, but it can also cause central nervous system depression.
The owner quickly confessed to the bemused parents that she was selling muffins laced with dagga to the learners.
One angry parent, Sonto Mathebula, said that it appears the dealer sees nothing wrong with introducing children to drugs.
“Young people become drug addicts and criminals with no prospect of a decent future. We want this woman to pay for what she did to our children,” she said.
Tsakani police spokesperson Sergeant Lerato Mngomezulu said when police raided the house they found dagga plants and 3kg of dried weed.
“The suspect claimed that she was a member of the Rastafarian community and baked the cookies for her family and friends. She said members of the community were buying from her and when the learners came to buy she thought they were sent by an adult,” said Mngomezulu.
Mngomezulu said the suspect was arrested and is expected to appear before the Tsakani Magistrate’s Court soon.
