On Friday 31 March 2017 the Western Cape High Court delivered a judgement that declared the prohibition of the cultivation, use and possession of Cannabis within the privacy of the home, unconstitutional.
We have been inundated with media interviews, words of support, congratulations for Jeremy Acton and Ras Garreth Prince and many, many questions. Here’s a summary of the most frequently asked:
What does the judgement say?
We highly recommend reading it as most of the important parts are in pretty simple English. The best summary of the judgement can be found on the reliable media platform, GroudUp.
What does the judgement mean for The Trial of the Plant? The judgement delivered on Friday was brought by way of application (everything on paper) and ours is a trial (expert witnesses, evidence given in person in court, cross examination, etc, just like on TV!). Therefor we have the opportunity to address everything that is missing in Friday’s judgement: Industrial Cannabis (Hemp), Cognitive Liberty, Trade, Supply, Transportation, Distribution, Traditional, Cultural & Religious Rights, etc
Does this mean that I can plant my seeds NOW? Well, no. You are still running the risk of arrest but if you are arrested IN YOUR OWN HOME you can use this judgement for your defense in court. You will still probably spend at least a night in jail, lose your Cannabis and spend some money on your legal defense. You can still be arrested anywhere outside your home and for that you can #JoinTheQueue.
How does this affect our #JoinTheQueue Dagga Arrest Helpline? Not at all. We now have an extra document in our armoury. We will continue to help people who are arrested on Cannabis charges, no matter how big or small, to apply for a stay in prosecution pending the outcome of The Trial of the Plant. Between Jeremy Acton and #JTQ we have achieved 44 Stays in Prosecution across 4 provinces. We have over 60 active cases and 3 “new” provinces on the cards. We will not give up until NOBODY is arrested for their Cultivation, trade or possession of Cannabis in SA. After that, JTQ will help people rescind their criminal records from the dark days.
What amounts will I be allowed to grow at my home? The judgement leaves this wide open and is something that the government will ultimately decide upon. However, we are busy formulating our proposals for legalised regulation in SA and this will be used as evidence in The Trial of the Plant. Join The Green Network to be part of the conversation around the draft.
What if I don’t have a place to grow, where would my weed come from? Now that is a very good question! The same place it has always come from? This is currently the situation in The Netherlands and is commonly known as decriminalisation. We have never advocated for this because it leaves this massive grey area that should be filled with South Africans contributing to the economy and creating jobs. Never fear, we have this aspect wrapped up to deal with, both at The Trail of the Plant and within the proposals mentioned above.
How can I help to get Cannabis completely legal? Pop over to the DC website and there is a list of ways that you can make a difference. Once you have ticked off that list, contact us and will give you something more to do.
What about the MCC’s guide for growing Cannabis for medicine? Dead in the water, in our opinion. How can you keep something in Schedule 6 when you can grow it at home??!! It will be interesting to see how it unravels, especially since Judge Davis was very scathing about Dr Joey Gouws’ evidence in the judgement. He was not very impressed with the oppositions evidence in general but very cognisant of the fact that Jeremy and Ras Garreth were representing themselves. Power to the people, Fields of Green for ALL, not the MCC’s foreigners and pharma companies.
When are we celebrating? On 22 April at Carfax, Newtown, Johannesburg! It is the 5th Birthday Party of our DDay 4.20 gathering and this one is going to be extra special. See you on the dancefloor! After DDay we will be heading down to Cape Town for the Bongalong Cannabis Walk.
how manny trees can i grow for personal .and how do i register for my growing licence
The Constitutional Court judgement did not indicate how many plants you can grow so YOU have to be able to prove to the police and the court that it was for personal use if you get bust. There are NO growing licenses available and there should NEVER have to be any licenses for this plant. Please sign up for our newsletter so that you know exactly what is going on. We have been voicing our distrust of the license system for a long time now. https://www.fieldsofgreenforall.org.za/want-license-grow-cannabis/ If you are really serious about Cannabis, please join The Green Network so that we can answer your questions in more detail. https://www.fieldsofgreenforall.org.za/community/
I’ve been in court and got state legal representation. Case has been postponed to 12 October, by which time I’ll be able to see what to do next.
Regards
Jakes
Hi Jakes,
If you need help please contact us via http://www.jointheq.co.za. We can assist you in getting a stay in prosecution pending the outcome of our case. All the best.
I was busted on 8 Aug.for having 17 plants in my garden. I did not sign any documents at all. I will be in court again tomorrow to get state legal representation allotted to me. I’ll be in contact but I am not holding my breath for the state attorney. I’ll keep in touch to report on the progress. I hope to stall the case until we have more clarity.
Regards
Jakes
Revolutionary !!
The journey is not over yet, although it has been a long tough journey !
Keep at it !
by the way ?
D-day was a great success !
Enjoyed it !
Hi,really appreciate your efforts guys would like to be part of this movement.
Hi Tshepo, thanks for the support! You can find ways to help on this link: https://daggacouple.co.za/how-you-help-cannabis-activism/
Contact us on this site if you require any more info.
As the judgement was passed in the Western Cape High Court, does this only apply to the Western Cape? i.e. those of us in Gauteng, KZN, etc are still prohibited?Thanks.
This judgement can be used in defense of Cannabis prosecutions across SA. We are ALL equal in the eyes of the law!
Thanks for the reply Myrtle.. :)
There is a vast amount of ambiguous information out there, I was under the impression that the use and propagation of it is legal now for person use, meaning if I have a plant or two in my garden the law may not do anything about it… According to the write-up above this is however not the case…
Yes we agree, that is why we wrote this article. To try to clear up the ambiguities!Nothing in the judgement says anything about legalisation. Be careful out there, be safe and get hold of us if you get into trouble with the law.
I got bust on the 23rd March with 3 plants in my garden. What do I have to do to defend myself? Regards Billy.
Billy, it’s Myrtle. Please inbox me and we can take it from there. we are here for you, as always.