It is with a heavy heart that we have to let everyone know that The Trail of the Plant has been postponed. WE DO NOT HAVE A NEW DATE YET, but we are confident that it will still be during 2016.

This is how the events and correspondence that led to the postponement unfolded:

In early December 2015, our attorneys at Schindlers wrote to Deputy Judge President Ledwaba (DJP) in order to, amongst other things,  seek guidance about the arrangements for our expert witnesses to present their evidence in court.

• Following this letter, Schindlers met with the DJP in person to discuss the way forward.
• The DJP informed us that he was unable to allocate a date (for a long duration) and he and instructed Schindlers to remove the matter from the roll. All trials which are expected to run for more than 10 days have to be allocated through the DJP’s office.
• The DJP is of the opinion that the matter should be subject to judicial management. This is where a judge is appointed to manage the case and act as a procedural “facilitator” between the various parties and, subsequently, the witnesses. Essentially, this process will ensure that all parties are trial ready and the issues are “limited” and “crystallised”. This makes a lot of sense when considering the huge amount of evidence that is necessary to challenge the law across all four platforms.
• At the moment, special trials which last more than 10 days are being allocated to the 3^rd term of 2016, which begins in September 2016. A new date can only be allocated when all parties are trial ready. We expect the trial to last up to 20 days.
• Schindlers are treating this as a matter of urgency and are currently awaiting formal correspondence from the DJP as to the specifics of the way forward.
• The parties have also requested a meeting between them and the offices of the DJP. We are looking forward to the appointment of a judge to manage the case and will let everyone know once this appointment has been made.

As you know, it is over five years since we were arrested and nobody wants the High Court trial to begin more than us. It is important to note that all evidence is led in the High Court and, after that, all procedures are followed according to that evidence, no new evidence will be admitted when we are done in the Pretoria High Court.

We have spent a great deal of time and money preparing for the 10 March date and South Africa was suitably excited about that date being imminent. Many of you donated to our Crowd Funding Campaign with this date in mind and we had even begun to make sure that our experts would get to see some of our beautiful country while they were here. We can assure everyone that the money raised has been safely stashed (!) for the later date.

We are not deterred and doubt whether any of our loyal supporters will be either. Since the somewhat devastating news of the postponement, we have realised that there are far more positive than negative outcomes to this decision:

• We only raised $25 286 of our $80 000 goal to fund travel and expert fees for our witnesses. More time means more time to fundraise.
• Our next fundraising event: http://weedstock.co.za/
• Some witnesses who could not make it in March may now be able to attend the trial at a later date.
• The fact that a judge will be appointed to manage the case will make life a bit easier for our legal team. As you can imagine, it is no easy task dealing with the various departments when suing the government!
• Judicial case management will also allow for more time for careful scrutiny of the evidence so that only the most salient points need to be argued in court, saving us time and money.
• There is a chance that there will be a shift in global drug policy after the UNGASS 2016 conference in New York in April.
• South Africa’s draconian attitude towards drug policy reform has been highlighted across global and regional platforms. The Drug Policy Alliance conference in November and last week’s SA Drug Policy Week were two such instances. We are confident that our “drug czars” are starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
• Fields of Green for ALL has been making good progress in gaining international traction for our cause, having attended SA Drug Policy Week (blog) and the Global Forum of Producers of Prohibited Plants in The Netherlands last month.
• Through our drive to recruit and our fight against forced crop eradication, we have made significant progress in forming international alliances over the last two years. Having more time before the trial can only be a good thing in this respect.
• It is our intention to stage a world class Trial of the Plant in South Africa, a trial that will bring with it significant media interest. More time allows us to plan for this important aspect and we will make sure that everyone knows about these plans as they progress.

As a side note, it was mentioned that the government would have probably asked for a postponement in March anyway so maybe we beat them to it! That is a good thing. Also, to our “amusement”, Schindlers received a Plea from the Eighth Defendant, Doctors for Life, during December. Yes, the doctors who we shared a studio with us on the “Dagga Debate” on SABC last year. They claim that this matter has already been decided during the Prince Case in 2000. They waited four years to claim that??!! Suffice it to say, our evidence and legal argument differs significantly from the Prince Case and we are confident that we will not be calling upon the Courts to consider any of the same issues.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our legal team. Managing this postponement has been a mammoth task, to say nothing of managing their client’s distress at hearing the news! Paul-Michael Keichel, Maurice Crespi, Kyle Telfer, Caitlin Wilde, you rock! Thanks also extended to our two advocates, Don Mahon & Chris Carelse. Now that the length of the trial will be up to 20 days, we fully appreciate the sacrifices made by these busy professionals for a hugely reduced fee.

Please bear with us, we promise to keep you updated every step of the way.

We do not have a new date yet. When we do, we will let everyone know immediately.

Onward and Upward, Fields of Green for ALL!

Myrtle, Jules and the FGA Crew.