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| Million Marijuana March, Cleveland, OH! |
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Posted by FoM on May 02, 1999 at 18:21:24 PT Written by John R. Bills! Thank You! Source: North Coast Norml 
About 1500 people showed up for the lively and loud march around the Cleveland Justice Center for the first Million Marijuana March here. It was quite a crowd, but I was saddened by the fact that I saw none of my pot-smoking friends in the crowd. Still, the size of the crowd, and their jubilation soon made me forget this fact. I also heard more than a few horn blasts from drive-by closet supporters, which enlivened the crowd to shout and chant slogans like, "Free the weed!", "Let my people grow!", etc...
There was a reverent attempt to encircle the jail; there was more than enough people in my opinion, but there were not enough organizers to make it happen. Hopefully, this will get better as the movement gains momentum. Hopefully, next year some of those corporate heads will come out and support this peaceful and constitutionally just movement next year. I made it a point to join NORML and donate some $ for the cause, and also sported my new Million Marijuana March t-shirt. More people wanted them but I don't think the organizers forsaw the crowd that would show up. There were quite a few fans waving from captiivity in the Justice Center, which made for more hoops and cheers of protest. Eventually, the crowd gathered around the park just north of the Justice Center. Everybody seemed to be anticipating some exciting stuff, but, unfortunately, the most moving speakers did not come to the pulpit until much of the crowd had dissipated. Again, the organizers need to be a little bit more on top of the situation; there were a lot of potential voters in the crowd who could be convinced to become more proactive in the fight to end the War on Drugs. Susan Sunshine was there, one of the eight legal medical marijuana users. She was very passionate about the subject, spouting poems and music for the crusade. She should have started when the crowd was still very large. There was also one of the plaintiffs in the class-action suit against the federal government. I don't recall his name, but his speech was very good, hitting on just about every point in the medical marijuana movement, and moving the crowd to sigh in digust at the rediculousness of our prohibitionist government. The Libertarian Party showed up to hawk their cause, which is essentially that of our founding fathers. The War on Drugs is slowly stripping away the freedoms of the Contitution, and people need to become aware of this. People must remember that there is no where else to run. America is the last frontier of freedom. If we lose it here, there will be nowhere to go. I was hoping to see genuine leadership on this front. Again, the organizers need to do a better job in speaking to these masses, and making them proactive in politics. They did make the very important point that becoming politically active is a very important and powerful means to affect a change for the better, but the crowd was down to about 500 by this time. The music was very good, a band from Pittsburg played a good set of reggae-style dance music that lasted for about an hour. There were only three policemen on duty, and they were far enough away from the crowd to allow the wandering spliff to be passed around during the music. I caught a good buzz and wandered around and enjoyed the atmosphere of relative freedom. Toward the end, another man came on, someone in the legal profession, and let everyone know how the law stood in Ohio. It seems we still have some of the most liberal laws in the country. They need to get a little more liberal and legalize it. The man was very knowledgeable and seemed to me like a good prospective candidate for public office. Of course, when he gets elected, his stance would probably change for the old party line, because that seems to be what happens all the time these days. Seems it did not take very long for McCaffery and Reno to scare new California Attorney General Lungren into forsaking his own state's constitution. Toward the end, there was another set of excellent acoustic music. There were only about 2-300 people by this time, but people were still dancing, including two girls who were both probably only in their early teens, if that. They were trying to dance that hippie dance that the older girls were doing(I'm sure there is a name for it, but I don't know it) and they were doing a descent job of it. What struck me was how young they were. But I soon realized by their sad, affectionate waving and undulations toward the window of the Justice Center, that their dads were probably just another statistic in the War on Drugs, and maybe they would get to be fathers again if only people would listen. That was when I slowly departed the scene, wondering how many little girls and boys are out there, feeling the pain of separation, feeling the pain of the War on Drugs, the War on America. Peace. by John R Bills Click the above link to visit North Coast Norml's Home Page! Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #7 posted by SUPER MARIO on May 02, 2001 at 22:06:31 PT |
| I WONDER IF THE PEOPLE THAT WENT WERE AS HIGH AS I WAS THATS TOO MANY POLICE AROUND TO BE HITTING UP SOMETHING I WOULD MESS AROUND AND PASS A BLUNT TO A POLICE OFFICER [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #6 posted by liz on March 04, 2001 at 14:48:04 PT:
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| Please don't smoke when you come! This is about decriminaliztion of marijuana, and for medical marijuana, and for the education of it. Educate people the difference between hemp and pot. Stay home next year!!!! [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by steve on August 16, 2000 at 19:00:34 PT:
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later,
steve
| Comment #4 posted by shea on May 08, 2000 at 11:18:08 PT |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 02, 1999 at 19:38:02 PT |
This is real news! Personal reports of events! That's real interactive news! Please send me an e mail to Cannabis News if you want me to post something. Or better yet post it in here where I will surely see it. United we will win divided we won't be able too!
Peace, FoM!
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Comment #2 posted by John R. Bills on May 02, 1999 at 19:01:22 PT:
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| Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 02, 1999 at 18:40:28 PT |
The times of these different events are vague but how it seemed to happen is still fresh in my mind!
No Internet in those days! LOL!
Peace, FoM!
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