At the end of the parade, I could barely tell who was a protester and who was an average person enjoying the day--except for the fact that most of the people just looked like stoners. As I got closer and closer to the core of the march the signs were more apparent: marijuana clothing, blunts being rolled, and that tell-tale smell. To show their solidarity some people wore marijuana leaf hats that looked like the Statue of Liberty's Crown.

I overheard two cops speaking. "Yeah, I knew this dude who was a regular guy, then he went to Jamaica and now he's a full out dred..." I asked the officer about the role of the police at the march.

"Well, were can't arrest everybody, our goal is to just keep things peaceful." People were chanting "Fuck Guiliani" and "We smoke pot and we like it alot." This guy was screaming, "Legalize it! Then you could get some too!"

Gabe, who was leading the march gave a simple reason for his involvement:, "The drug war makes me sick." As we passed City Hall, I felt the urge to spark up. How many times would I get to smoke out front of a government building?

It was amazing just how many people were smoking!

Right in front of cops. Everywhere I looked, people where smoking, rolling joints and blunts and some were even selling. This guy posed for my picture and then started yelling, "20 bucks a blunt, $3 a puff!" He had immediate takers. Like any good protest, there were plenty of signs.
At the end of the march, thousands of pot smokers gathered in Battery Park. Then suddenly people started going wild. Everyone started hopping the fence and running towards the bandstand.

One of the organizers gave the standard issue rallying cry to legalize marijuana. Then the MC started yelling that everyone should smoke immediately and that all the dealers in the crowd should give their pot away for FREE. Wisps of smoke started rising from the crowd. Everyone was smoking.