The Trial of the Cannabis Plant is due to start in the Pretoria High Court, Gauteng province, South Africa on 31 July 2017 until 25 August 2017. This is a total of 19 high court days.

Our legal team at Schindlers Attorneys consulted with Deputy Judge President Ledwaba recently and it was established that these were the first available dates on the court roll for a special (long term, public interest) trial. Accordingly, various dates were set as deadlines over the next year for both parties to get their evidence and witnesses in order. The various deadlines are realistic and attainable by the defendants (the government) so there will be no room for further postponements. We mentioned before that a judge would be appointed to manage the case and we are pleased to announce that it will be Deputy Judge President Ledwaba himself mediating between the parties and making sure that all deadlines are met. We take this as a sign that he is determined to get the show on the road.

We know that as you read this you will have the same reaction as we did. Yes, it is still a long time to wait, but we also know that the wheels turn slowly in the judicial system in South Africa and there are many aspects of our society that also require our learned judges’ attention.

It is a big relief, though, to finally have a date and now, with the support that has grown so much over the past five and a half years, we can polish all aspects of our campaign and enter the court knowing that we have done the absolute best we can. We are confident that we will be presenting the best evidence for an outcome that will join other countries in leading the way towards a worldwide repeal of the unjust and racist Cannabis laws.

Everything we have put in place so far can only be improved upon and this includes fundraising, public awareness and education, international networking and broader drug policy issues. The new date means that we will be able to grow our crowd funding nest egg and wrap up all of the projects that we have started.

Thank you for walking this road with us.

And thank you to all of the JoinTheQueue cases who wait patiently with us.

With love and gratitude, Myrtle and Jules xx