WATCH | Dagga Couple's Julian Stobbs' laughing and filled with joy during last podcast before being murdered

06 July 2020 - 11:57
By Unathi Nkanjeni
'The Dagga Couple', Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke. Stobbs was shot dead in an armed robbery in his home on Friday.
Image: Alaister Russell 'The Dagga Couple', Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke. Stobbs was shot dead in an armed robbery in his home on Friday.

The Dagga Couple's Julian “Jules” Stobbs died hours after he hosted his last podcast, for which fans of the show and many others will remember him.

The podcast is a weekly show that airs every Thursday, discussing local and international cannabis news, views and trends. The last show featured American cannabis rights activist Steve DeAngelo, and Stobbs can be seen in his element, drinking beer and laughing. 

Stobbs, dressed in brown pants and a black t-shirt, was asked at the start of the show how he crushes his weed.

"If I can do it by hand I will. Mostly I like to f*ck around with it by hand," he said.

Sitting on a green couch surrounded by co-hosts and street poll posters, the HotBoxShow is a weekly podcast that goes live every Thursday at 7pm.

When interviewing DeAngelo, Stobbs made reference to the SA lockdown, calling it "brutal" and the police "heavy-handed."

Stobbs died on Friday after he was shot in an armed robbery in Lanseria, Gauteng.

According to a statement shared on Facebook, Stobbs died at the scene. His partner, Myrtle Clarke, was unharmed and the attackers made off with two cellphones and two laptops.

“The cannabis community is mourning the passing of our hero. The family is requesting that the public respect their privacy and allow Myrtle and the family some space during this difficult time. Thank you for the outpouring of love we have already received,” the statement read.

The pair was famously known as the "Dagga Couple” after winning a five-year battle to make smoking cannabis legal in SA.

TimesLIVE reported that Stobbs and Clarke were arrested in 2010 at their home on charges of possession and dealing in drugs.

In 2013, the couple established Fields of Green for ALL, a non-profit company to deal with the obstacles surrounding the legal regulation of dagga in SA.

Most of its work involves guidance for “those who have been marginalised by use, cultivation and trade in cannabis”.  

In the same year, the couple's legal battle continued until September 2018, when smoking of cannabis for personal use was made fully legal in SA.

“We are not free until everyone is free. We will not get equitable regulations in SA or the rest of Africa unless both our government and the emerging industry becomes cognisant of those who are most likely to be left behind,” the pair previously said.

“It is ironic that those who know the most about cannabis in SA are those whose livelihoods are most threatened by over-regulation and ignorance on the part of law makers and those with pots of money to pour into innovation.”

Watch Stobbs' last #Hotboxshow podcast below.

The #Hotboxshow Episode 139 ft Steve Deangelo Steve DeAngelo is the recipient of the 2015 High Times Lester Grinspoon...

Posted by The Dagga Couple on Thursday, July 2, 2020