Every job has its ups and downs – some pay well, but have excruciating hours, others pay badly, but have benefits out of this world. Just ask any SAA flight attendant.

What does your job do for you? That must have been the question some of the 15 SAA crew members asked themselves before considering using the one benefit not written into their contracts: they and their luggage are unlikely to be searched at international airports.

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Or so they thought. Sometimes your luck is in and the sniffer dogs are off duty and you get to take a bit of extra luggage with you on your way to London. But guys, it doesn't take a genius to work out that being caught once has put you in the spotlight. Come on.

Job satisfaction
The jury is still out on the flight attendants' level of job satisfaction after several arrests were made at Heathrow when drugs were found in a bag belonging to a crew member on Monday. And this is the killer: it's the second time in less than a month. Last time it was 54kg of drugs (mostly dagga) worth R4,3 million and this time 5kg of cocaine worth almost R3,5 million. This is indeed enough to bolster any dwindling pension fund.

Can you see the ad? Join the SAA and aim for a high level of job satisfaction.

But seriously, guys. Cocaine is a drug that kills, and could not have been transported for any other reason than filthy lucre. Shame on you.

Earl's Court vs the foothills of the Drakensberg
The stash was down, this time, from 54kg to 5kg, but the value almost the same. So the guilty parties have decided to go for quality over quantity. Well, it's tidier, and easier to carry.

But the dagga from the last round is, on a level, easier to spin into a less destructive story. Every self-respecting Saffer in London knows that the stuff just does not grow as well in the backyard of a ground-floor bedsit in Earl's Court as it does on the foothills of the Drakensberg. It’s like trying to have a decent braai in East Finchley in January. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat.

So maybe the SAA crew members were just trying to help out a few depressed expats. Maybe they also had Mrs Balls Chutney and vacuum-packed biltong in their luggage. And a few kilos of African sunshine.

And, of course, there is a growing trend towards the decriminilisation of marijuana.

In the recent US presidential elections, for instance, mini-referendums were held in many of the states. Both Massachusetts and Michigan approved marijuana under certain very strict provisos.

They join, amongst others, California, which has had a progressive policy in place for some years. In the city of Los Angeles, for instance, there are 24-hour medical marijuana vending machines. This is only available to people carrying cards authorising their use of the drug. So, no late-night, post-club forays to the dagga ATM for the majority of people.

The medical use of marijuana
Marijuana is said to alleviate chronic pain and counteract loss of appetite in patients. On the latter, the jury is still out, and some studies suggest that it doesn't alleviate pain effectively either. An Austrian study found that oral cannabis (a form of medical marijuana) was ineffective in treating certain types of acute pain and actually increased sensitivity to some other kinds of discomfort.

The researchers admitted they were surprised to find an absence of any form of analgesic activity of THC-standardised cannabis extract during their study and instead found that high doses of cannabinoids may even caused increased sensitivity in certain pain conditions.

This is contrary to previous research which implied that cannabis and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC - the main psychoactive component of marijuana) may help ease chronic pain in cancer patients, spinal cord injury patients, and people with multiple sclerosis. Yet the researchers stand by their findings and described them as "conclusive".

So if those of the SAA flight crew who were behind the dagga deal were hoping to help out Aunty Sybil in Hampstead who suffers so terribly from gout in the cold, they were, perhaps, misguided.

But there is simply no such excuse for the 5kg of cocaine, guys.

Sources: HealthDay News, Reuters Health, Health24.com

(Susan Erasmus, Health24, February 2009)

Read more:
The last word on dagga

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	Whatever next? 2009/02/17 10:54:24 AM Maybe they should use some of this moneyto bail out the SAA rather expecting the SA taxpayer to do it? - Richard   DRUGS 2009/02/17 11:37:25 AM tHESE SAA peole are just bringing SA' s name iinto further disrepute. One wonders how many overseas visitors there will be for the World Cup.Must be getting fewer by the day! - mikeh   Disgusting 2009/02/17 11:39:18 AM I am disgusted first their CEO steals then this again? Come on wake up we are being lead by absolutly mindless individuals and YES it' s time for change to rid us of these people, I am disgusted to be a South African because our leaders our airlines are all corrupt to the core if I where God SA would be first on my hit list of corrupt places to destroy! - Etienne   SAA 2009/02/17 11:43:23 AM I guess The SAA is flying higher than usual - Rudie   Why 2009/02/17 11:56:05 AM Why do some people just think they have a right to luxury and the best things in life? True, everyone would like a bit of luxury, but to steal it is something else. - Melinda   I get so tired fo this 2009/02/17 11:57:49 AM I am embarrassed to say i live in SA - just watch the news today. fraud, crime and corruption everywhere. Where are all the honest people? - Embarrassed   Flying " High" ! 2009/02/17 12:17:02 PM SAA really gives new meaning to the " Mile High Club" ! - Jaco   SAA 2009/02/17 12:35:25 PM Don' t drink and drive, smoke and fly (SAA). - Rash   Shame 2009/02/17 12:40:04 PM Really, SAA should do something about this. It is a big shame for our country. We can' t tolerate people who push corruption and crime. These people should be punished severely. SAA should tighten their security on all flights baording. Jerrrr man, it is disgusting.... - Tim   SAA 2009/02/17 12:46:28 PM The SAA need to keep a straight line hehe - Rudie   SAA 2009/02/17 01:03:04 PM I flew for SAA for 12 years. I used to feel honored to wear that uniform. All i can say is i feel sorry for those crew members who are NOT guilty and are now labeled. Crew members from many airlines have been found transporting the stuff. It is disgusting! Oh SAA, not only your service levels but now the tarnished name…  why have you allowed this to get so out of hand??? - Tess   SAA. 2009/02/17 01:25:15 PM Reminds me of the old Barclaycard add...." Fly now pay later"  - Denzil   Pull your weight. 2009/02/17 01:33:32 PM Cant wait for SAA to fold, they have been a burden for the taxpayer for years now, the gap they leave could be filled by Virgin, BA, Emirates, etc. In a county with 5 million taxpayers and 12 million welfare receipients, SAA`s " departure"  would be welcome relief! - jean   Snorting Airways 2009/02/17 01:47:20 PM What the F*** is going on with SAA? - Dave   SAA 2009/02/17 02:09:07 PM do we get on-flight complimetaries? hehe. how dumb can these people be? there was a bust 1 month ago! what ever happened to laying low? really sad! yeah we can joke about it, but these guys are really damaging the repute of the country, if there is any left that is - was   SAA an absolute disgrace 2009/02/17 02:30:51 PM I agree with all that say SAA should be shut down or sold off. Tax payers are losing money for an institution that has shown no good return. SAA is also one of the most expensive airllines compared to all others. I have booked a holiday to Europe in April and SAA was 100% more expensive than Emirates. I am a tax payer and my money goes to SAA to bail them out yet their prices are obsurd. We Supporting SAA but won' t even be able to afford fly with them. (not that I would want to) - Michael   Stop it at Departure! 2009/02/17 02:35:52 PM I really don' t understand how this can get through OR Tambo!!! I am searched from head to toe when I travel through Jhb... they MUST do the same with crew. This is a complete embarrassment for security at SA airports and reeks of corruption. - Unimpressed   dude, catch up... 2009/02/17 03:15:56 PM The writer is clearly not particularly au fait with Saffers in London post -1982....there ain' t no Saffers (nor Aussie nor Kiwia) living in bedsits in Earl' s Court....and haven' t been for a while... catch-up....its Clapham and Earlsfield these days... - Bob   Cannabis 2009/02/19 08:39:29 AM I agree with the fact that sometimes it alleviates pain, yet other times it makes you more sensitive. I have nothing against cannabis, what is wrong with a ' ciggarette'  that makes you laugh and feel more relaxed? It' s better than alcohol by a long shot. But in my experience if u have had say tummy cramps for instance and u smoke, then ur paranoia comes into effect and it feels worse than before, But such as toothache which can be a killer, it seems to help with the pain:) YOUR CHOICE! - Cyanide   Recent SAA Dugs Haul! 2009/02/19 01:11:00 PM i can just see it - two or more Sniffer Dogs at the Boarding door of the Plane to Heathrow or other Comfort-Zone destinations. Just nice for little kids who are affraid of ordinary dogs! However, this latest item will not stop us flying SAA, I still believe in the ould TV add. - Brian Brannigan   hello 2009/06/05 08:42:09 AM -|-//www.caraudio.com/forum/member.php?u=70564 -|-//forum.esmasoft.com/profile.php?mode=viewprofile& u=2987 -|-//www.parashut.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile& u=11501 -|-//forums.hostrocket.com/member.php?u=42922& tab=aboutme& simple=1 - trubomet   hello 2009/06/05 08:42:10 AM -|-//www.caraudio.com/forum/member.php?u=70564 -|-//forum.esmasoft.com/profile.php?mode=viewprofile& u=2987 -|-//www.parashut.com/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile& u=11501 -|-//forums.hostrocket.com/member.php?u=42922& tab=aboutme& simple=1 - trubomet
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