Senegal burns tonnes of cannabis

Drug law enforcers in Senegal invited the press to watch 4.5 tonnes of cannabis being burnt today.

One question immediately comes to mind - did the observers inhale the smoke and get stoned themselves?

The BBC's Mamadou Ba, who took these pictures in the Mamelles neighbourhood of the capital, Dakar, did watch the proceedings for a while - but left specifically because he did not want to get high.

The cannabis, which is illegal in Senegal, was confiscated along with small amounts of cocaine and heroin.

All over the world, including New Zealand and Indonesia police have made the curious decision to destroy the marijuana by burning it.

 

The idea of holding a press conference to burn cannabis has long been the butt of jokes - including this scene in the British comedy Drop the Dead Donkey where the reporter gets increasingly high while making a TV dispatch.