5 May / 5 květen
13:00 Staroměstskě Náměstí
13:30 Pochod Směr Letná 

V sobotu se na Letné uskuteční již desátý ročník demonstrace za legalizaci marihuany

PRAHA - Je to již deset let, co pražskými ulicemi poprvé zaznělo heslo "LEGALIZACE"! Demonstrace, která se tehdy sešla na Staroměstském náměstí, se mezitím stala součástí celosvětového protestu Milion Marihuana March a do značné míry se profesionalizovala. Každoroční květnový happening za legalizaci marihuany se zařadil po bok největších hudebních festivalů v zemi - má podobnou návštěvnost, podobný rozpočet i hvězdné obsazení kapel. A přestává být také něčím výjimečným. Za tu dobu se totiž v mnohém změnily i postoje společnosti...

Legalizace.cz

History of Million Marijuana March in English below

History of Million Marijuana March

by xChaos

For more than 30 years, advocates of marijuana legalization have marched in cities across the country and around the world on May Day (or the first weekend in May). This year is no different, with organizers anticipating rallies in more than 200 cities on the weekend of May 5-6.

Million Marijuana Marches Loom, As Do Perennial Questions About Their Utility [stopthedrugwar.org]

Some people think, that these images of longhairs, many of them young teenagers, straggling down the sidewalk with handmade signs proclaiming things about fascists and how getting high is good, are in fact counterproductive (for the case of medical marijuana, or for the harm-reduction policy generally). According to stopthedrugwar.org website, this is more or less the opinion of New York state-based drug reform group ReconsiDer or of the Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

But according to Brussels-based coordinator of ENCOD, Joep Oomen, cannabis is the strongest link in the drug policy reform movement since it involves the most people. If we stop marching, it means we are giving in to the status quo.

My idea, as a member of "OSLiK", local Czech Civil Asociation of Legal Cannabis, is that both of those basic points of view at our annual gathering in the center of Prague are present also in pro-cannabis movement in our country. Many people were concerned that such noisy and messy public event attended mainly by alternative crowd would spoil general image of cannabis users; but at the same time many other people supported the idea of massive annual demonstration/party/happening. And it turned out, that we are in fact quite mainstream and massive movement.

What is specific to situation in Czech Republic, is that media paid more attention to our event, when they were getting images of young teenagers, straggling down the sidewalk with handmade signs. But times are changing, and Million Marijuana March happenings became rather professionaly organized free-entry music festivals, featuring pro-legalization interviews with drug policy specialists, and even with chronicaly ill patients take advantage of using marijuana as medical treatment, right on main stage... and Do-It-Yourself style cleanup of the place rented from municipal authorities when the party's over. Of course - such problem-free parties in parc don't make headlines any longer. But we exist, we evolve, and we are slowly, but steadily changing the world we live in.

While cannabis usage is more or less tolerated by general public in Czech Republic (especially when considered as an alternative or substitute of heavy alcohol abuse), annual Million Marijuana March meetings in Prague express solidarity with all drug war victims worldwide and demand full "freedom to farm" - decriminalization and legalization of production, posession, and consumption of cannabis.

We demand freedom for Marc Emery and we also demand all governments worldwide to stop all cannabis-related arrests.

One of the main information sources about Worldwide (Million, Global...) Marijuana March movement is Dana Beal's www.cures-not-wars.org website.

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