Traditional, Cultural and Religious Use
Fields of Green for ALL aims to build a community of practise and support through active citizenry in order to reduce the stigmatisation that is the result of 100 years of prohibition of the Cannabis plant. “Fields of Green for ALL” intends to legitimise the informal and otherwise illegal trade in this plant that has been a part of South African culture for centuries.
As we recognise that only a limited number of people in the South African Cannabis community have access to digital platforms, we also focus on national ground level campaigning in order to carry our message to those who are not fortunate enough to gain access to Cannabis information by privileged means.
While Fields of Green for ALL campaigns for the legalisation of Cannabis for ALL uses for ALL South Africans, it is important that we remember our history and there is an end to the marginalisation of communities who use this plant in ceremony and in accordance with their own, private beliefs and customs.
We engage with various communities to learn about their situation in an ongoing effort to include all South Africans in the conversation.
Traditional Leaders and Healers, rural communities and Rastafari, we hear you!
An important annexure to our High Court evidence in The Trial of the Plant is an essay by South African historian and one of our expert witnesses, Craig Paterson. Download “Prohibition and Resistance, a Sociopolitical Exploration of the Changing Dynamics of the Southern African Cannabis Trade c1850 to the present” here.
In January 2016 a global meeting took place where small scale farmers of cannabis, coca and opium from 14 countries discussed their contribution to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS). You can read more about the Heemskerk Declaration here.
And to show how the current policies of prohibition are harming rural communities in South Africa, please watch our short movie: “Police in Helicopters” on The Dagga Couple YouTube Channel.
Watch our documentary about the police crop spraying of rural communities
Some highlights from our local activism within traditional and rural communities
