This year’s 4/20 more political than ever, pot activists say
If you thought legalization meant an end to 4/20 demonstrations, think again. Event organizers across Canada say this year's cannabis holiday is more political than ever
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/04/2018 (2171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
April 20 is a multipurpose day for cannabis enthusiasts.
It’s a day to praise the plant, to show the rest of the world that plenty of people use it and to engage in cannabis-related political protest.
For Canadian cannabis fans, though, this year is different. Legalization should be in place by the end of 2018, an answer to the “Legalize It” plea that’s adorned so many 4-20 signs over the years.
But for some, legalization of cannabis is being marred by the corporatization of cannabis — and for old-school cannabis activists such as Abi Roach, this year’s 4-20 is a chance to celebrate the cannabis culture she’s always known.
“I feel like not just the politicians, but the new industry is trying to erase the culture so they can start from scratch,” said Roach, who owns Toronto’s iconic Hotbox Cafe cannabis lounge and is throwing a 4-20 block party in cannabis-friendly Kensington Market.
“I’m going to concentrate my efforts on really bringing pride to cannabis culture and bringing pride to the people who consume cannabis. I think that’s really important,” Roach said about this year’s celebrations.
It’s all about reminding people that cannabis culture was an underground culture before it entered the mainstream, she said, “and we want to keep it alive.”
Roach expects at least 1,000 people to show up to the party, which will include a cannabis bar. Entrants will have their IDs checked, and Roach said her good relationship with local police means legal trouble is unlikely.
‘I’m going to concentrate my efforts on really bringing pride to cannabis culture and bringing pride to the people who consume cannabis. I think that’s really important’
“I think next year, all that kind of stuff will be really difficult,” she said. “As underground as we are today, I think all that fun stuff with cannabis is going to really have to go deep underground in Canada, sadly. And that’s a shame.”
‘An act of civil disobedience’
On Canada’s West Coast, longtime activist Dana Larsen expects a horde of weed aficionados at the 4-20 celebration on Sunset Beach in Vancouver. Last year, the event drew about 100,000 people throughout the entire day, he said.
Those revellers will be able to browse among a couple hundred booths, many of them selling cannabis, Larsen said.
“It’s not legal, what we do, any more than dispensaries are legal anywhere in the country,” Larsen explained.
While he sees some benefits to the federal government’s legalization plan, he said the Cannabis Act still has plenty of things in it worth protesting at this year’s 4-20.
“We see this as an act of civil disobedience, of trying to create the kind of situation that we want to see in Canada, where cannabis is tolerated and accepted, and where there’s no stigma around cannabis use and where cannabis users have equal rights to other people, and certainly to alcohol users,” he said, adding even after legalization, “4-20 will still be a protest for many years to come.”
That sentiment was echoed by Shawn MacAleese, one of the organizers of the annual 4-20 event on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
“I would compare it to the way that we still have Pride marches, and any other marches for things that have been normalized or legalized in whatever sense,” said MacAleese, who expects at least 15,000 people to show up this year.
‘You don’t have to be ashamed’
A golden opportunity for journalists to capture photos and video of Canadians smoking enormous joints in front of Parliament’s Peace Tower, images of the Ottawa 4-20 event are sure to resonate across Canadian and international media for the rest of the year.
“It’s a matter of being on Parliament Hill, where no other governing body allows this in the world,” MacAleese said. “You can’t walk up to the White House and have this big smoke-in there.”
“It’s a matter of being on Parliament Hill, where no other governing body allows this in the world. You can’t walk up to the White House and have this big smoke-in there.”–Shawn MacAleese
But organizers of the Ottawa event are torn on whether or not this legalization is actually true legalization, whether it’s a boon or a negative thing, MacAleese said.
“This 4-20 is definitely going to be about all those sides coming together, and trying to have a voice for all of us, and show that regardless of where we come from, we all believe that legalization is something that needs to happen.”
In Regina, Claudette LeJour is organizing a 4-20 march to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to protest the government’s legalization plan. She’s especially concerned with recent raids by Regina police that closed down local cannabis dispensaries, and is hoping local media take notice.
“It’s time to decriminalize the plant and not legalize it, because legalizing it is just throwing everybody that’s trying to help us in jail, and then our medications are gone,” LeJour said.
“A lot of people are saying these new laws are unreal. And there’s so many people sitting in institutions right now, for years, for a marijuana plant.”
In Charlottetown, P.E.I., Michael Wasnidge is throwing a 4-20 fundraiser for a local non-profit with his employer, a home cannabis-growing supply shop called Grow Daddy.
For Wasnidge, this year’s 4-20 has a more traditional goal: erasing the stigma that still surrounds cannabis use in his community.
“The stigma has lessened significantly over the last several decades, but what we’re still seeing is that people aren’t coming out, there’s still some people who are afraid to speak openly about their cannabis use,” Wasnidge said.
“And I think that by doing these events, by putting things out to the community, (we’re) saying, ‘You know what, you don’t have to be ashamed of this, we’re in a new era.'”
solomon.israel@theleafnews.com
“I think that by doing these events, by putting things out to the community, (we’re) saying, ‘You know what, you don’t have to be ashamed of this, we’re in a new era.'”–Michael Wasnidge
@sol_israel
History
Updated on Friday, April 20, 2018 6:56 AM CDT: Final