cannabisnews.com: They Have High Hopes! The Montreal Event!





They Have High Hopes! The Montreal Event!
Posted by FoM on May 19, 1999 at 14:27:23 PT
Written by Marc-Boris St-Maurice 
Source: www.blocpot.qc.ca
Marijuana Marchers Call for End to Prosecutions!One might have questioned the ability of the marchers to walk straight.Despite the risk of going off on tangents, about 3000 advocates of cannabis consumption filed through city streets with an orderly sense of direction and purpose, calling on the federal and provincial governments to let them puff in peace. 
They were helped along by a police escort that was notable for turning a blind eye to elements in the crowd who appeared to be putting their slogans into practice."One day we will gather to celebrate our victory in this senseless war against marijuana and it's users," organizer Marc St-Maurice told the crowd in Carré St-Louis, where the million marijuana march got under way.St-Maurice, bass player in the punk band Grimskunk and founder of the Bloc-Pot- a bona fide party in the last provincial election- sais the police and the courts should adopt a policy of "non intervention."Infused with political rhetoric and other, less legal, substances, the crowd then surged northward up St-Denis st., a giddy parade flaunting its preferred method of inebriation.Ignored by police!A middle aged man tried to taunt stone-faced montreal urbain police officers by waving a funny looking cigarette in their face. "I'm smoking a joint," he shrieked. Arrest me! arrests me!" he was studiously ignored.The marchers moved up to Mount-Royal Ave., and westward to their final destination at the foot of the mountain. Along the way, various benefits of the plant were lauded by the youthful crowd. "you should really get some hemp milk," sais Carmen Zella Mackinlay. "It's the most nutritious thing you'll ever put in your body."One dissenting voice was heard when the dope demo passed a pharmacy on Mount-Royal."I think we can live without marijuana," said Saul Singer, who stood in his doorway to take in the spectacle. "To relieve pain, there is already plenty of drugs on the market. I dont recommend it."The marchers felt otherwise. "too many people are going to prison for marijuana," maintained Sebastien Gerdner, 17, who marched with a green iguana on his shoulder.Once arriving on the park ave. flank of mount-royal, there was no discernable difference beetween the marijuana marchers and the usual weekend conglomeration of free spirits known as the Tam-Tams.At the statue of Sir Georges-Etienne Cartier, St-Maurice praised the marchers for their behaviour and suggested that the sun drenched afternoon was "a sign that the gods are with us."Engraved on the statue were words by Cartier, dated 1867, that the marijuana lobby- had they taken notice- might have agreed with: "Canada must be a country of freedom, and all freedom must be protected by law."
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Comment #1 posted by David Fiset on May 20, 1999 at 16:45:02 PT:
1st of may was a great day!
It's true! I was there and we could smoke while walking in the middle of the street. I'll be there next year. One day, marijuana will be free and so will I...
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