On Tuesday 19 June we had a 2 hour meeting with our legal team. Present were Ferdi Hartzenberg, our attorney and Rudolph Jansen, senior advocate. Adrian Vorster, junior advocate, was unable to attend. We had been on a mission to clear up many aspects of our case for many months and are pleased to have some answers to the questions we and our supporters have been asking.

Firstly, there was the question of the answer to the Defendant’s reply. This is a paper that will be delivered to the defendants (7 Government Departments). The defendant’s reply can be found here. We have written the answer but it has to be re-drafted into legalise by our advocate. He has promised to have this ready by next week.

Secondly, there is the issue of the warrant for our arrest that was issued in March. We had to appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court as the prosecutor was unaware that our case had been struck off the role, pending the outcome of the High Court decision. This was a huge bureaucratic bungle that cost us over R20 000. The issue was that the prosecutor failed to check on the status of our case with his head office in Pretoria. We could not accept this gross inefficiency so we sued the court and the prosecutor in his personal capacity for the cost of the bungle. We have received notice that the court will not oppose this charge and the hearing will be on the 4th of July in Krugersdorp. A junior advocate will represent us and we have been advised that we have a good chance of recovering our money.

Then there is the big question of the High Court date. Here our advocate advised us to exercise extreme patience! In his experience, it takes two years to put together a case like this. We are not going to get to the High Court this year. Now this is very frustrating at first but when we consider all that is at stake, we need all the time we can get. Laws do not get changed overnight and we only have one chance at this. We also have the chance that laws will change dramatically around the world in that time and this can only count in our favour.

Now the big challenge is to keep the momentum going and keep the public interested. As we have indicated before, our case had two sides to it – Legal & Civil. It is all very well to ask the courts to change the law but it is up to Government to take the advice of the court and actually change their policy. Politicians act largely on public opinion and we have to show them that we have massive public support. We are initiating contact with NGO’s, Trade Unions and other public sector interest groups. We are in the process of registering a non-profit organisation so that we may approach these organisations in a formal manner.

Changing public perception of Dagga is what this is all about. This is a huge task and we are heartened at having received so much support so far. We need all people who use this plant, for whatever reason, to come out of the closet about their use. There is still an ever-present air of fear surrounding the issue. One of the first things we learnt was to get rid of the fear and stand up for what we believe in. Despite all our efforts around internet security, people fear signing our petition. www.petition.daggacouple.co.za/web/ .This petition will carry little weight without the validation of people’s ID numbers. We understand the concerns but fearing the oppressors is not going to get us anywhere. Lets get 500 000 signatures!

Then there is the question of all the people who are being arrested and harassed by the police. We need the police and the courts to be aware of our campaign. There is not a day goes by that we do not receive requests from people who have been bust. What happens in this situation is anyone’s guess. It all depends on the arresting officers, court jurisdiction and circumstances of the arrest. We have seen a very wide range of incidents and their consequences. This has ranged from a 19yr old getting 6 months in prison for one joint to  a grower getting a slap on the wrist for 80 plants! There is an urgent need to consolidate the stories and make a stand, together. Please download our “Puffer’s Guide to Being Arrested” and follow the instructions if you are bust. We can help you only if you are prepared to help yourself. Too many people just pay the “admission of guilt” fine and end up with criminal records. Set aside the fear and your arrest could play a significant role in our campaign.http://daggacouple.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/PUFFERS-GUIDE-TO-BEING-ARRESTED..pdf . Please also email your stories / experiences to info@daggacouple.co.za . We guarantee your privacy in these matters.

People always ask how they can help. Thanks! Help can be summed up in four areas:

EDUCATE – Know the facts, spread the word, share our YouTube video & petition far and wide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG4WTvUBD18 . Be aware of preaching to the choir! Concentrate on people who have been brainwashed by the propaganda and you will be amazed by how positively people react to the truth.

PARTICIPATE – Become a Dagga Couple rep in your area. Distribute flyers and information. Host documentary screening events, help those who have been bust in your area. Meet with other Dagga Couple reps. Here we need dedicated people who are prepared to go the distance. Sign up here and our reps co-ordinator will be in contact with you. We need 500 reps spread accross the country but, please, only dedicated people should apply. We are particularly interested in hearing from people in small towns and rural areas. http://daggacouple.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=88f997c932912c62c8c6a9cdd&id=b12e263302

SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE – We really need all the experts we can get to help. There is a huge amount of RESEARCH to be done. If you are good at gathering and summarising information in the areas of legal content, international affairs or local governance, please contact us. We have a huge pile of documents and books that need to be read and dissected. Help! Are you a LAWYER / LAW STUDENT, MARKETING guru, MEDIA boff, talented GRAPHIC DESIGNER, IT wizzkid or EVENTS champion? Please contact us with your area of expertise and we’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.

DONATE – The DONATE button is on the front page of our website. Every cent counts as we now know that we will need R1 million to get to the Constitutional Court. This is made up of R500 000 to pay for High Court Legal fees, R200 000 for the Constitutional Court process and R100 000 for our Civil Action Campaign. Our Fund Account is independently audited and all activity on this account is available on request. Consider setting up a monthly debit order for an amount you can afford. We also have donation tins available for your small change. This seems petty but we can collect around R300 per tin and EVERY CENT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

Once again we would like to thank everybody for their continued support, we would not be able to do this without you. Looking foward to meeting all our new supporters along the way.

Onward and upward, Viva Dagga!

Myrtle & Julian