Nearly Half of South Africans Think Smoking Dagga is Wrong – Survey

This is according to a survey, conducted last year, by the Pew Research Center, an American think tank that provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends, in the United States (US) and the world.

It surveyed people in 25 countries regarding their views on a number of issues, one of which was the acceptability of smoking marijuana, or dagga.

The proportion of South Africans who believed that smoking marijuana was morally wrong was 48%, against 23% who did not believe it was morally wrong. At the same time 26% of those surveyed said they did not believe it was a moral issue.

Indonesians are the most opposed to the smoking of marijuana, with 91% saying it is morally unacceptable, while Canadians are the most permissive. Only 19% of Canadians said it was morally unacceptable to smoke dagga.

A large minority of South Africans also frown on drinking alcohol, according to the same survey. Forty percent of South Africans surveyed said drinking alcohol was morally wrong, with 28% saying it was morally acceptable, and 28% saying it was not a moral issue.

Indonesians were again the nationality that had the strongest views on the issue, with 83% saying that it was morally wrong. On the other end of the scale, only 7% of Australians and 7% of Swedes said it was morally wrong to drink.

The findings echo what The Common Sense has argued in the past. South Africans are, in general, “small-c” conservatives and there is relatively broad agreement on most major issues across race, language, and religious groups.