cannabisnews.com: Proponents Of Marijuana Stage Protest
Proponents Of Marijuana Stage Protest
Posted by CN Staff on May 04, 2002 at 22:34:00 PT
By Thomas J. Lueck
Source: New York Times
An annual rite of protest by marijuana advocates resulted in 148 arrests yesterday as several thousand people gathered in Lower Manhattan for a march and rally. The police said the demonstration, billed by its organizers as Million Marijuana March 2002, was peaceful. All arrests were for possession or use of marijuana, according to Officer Guy Braun, a police spokesman. The crowd, which began gathering shortly after 1 p.m. at Houston Street and Broadway, grew to about 6,000 as it made its way down a single lane of Broadway to Battery Park, according to participants and some observers.
The police declined to estimate the size of the crowd. Although similar rallies have been staged for years in Manhattan, the one yesterday may have struck a nerve at City Hall, since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was prompted last month to say he regretted having mentioned in a interview that he had once tried marijuana and enjoyed it.That remark, along with a photograph of the mayor, has been used in advertising by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, even though Mr. Bloomberg says he favors rigorous enforcement of marijuana laws. The police deployed hundreds of officers at the rally and apparently had rigorous enforcement in mind, since many plainclothes officers were among the marchers. Repeatedly, officers led away individuals and groups of protesters who were seen smoking marijuana. As the crowd moved slowly down Broadway, some protesters chanted "Bloomberg smokes pot" as they passed City Hall Park. By 4 p.m., most of the group had reached Battery Park, where they listened to music and speeches by people calling for decriminalization of marijuana. Although most demonstrators were in their teens or 20's, several were veterans of such protests. "We won't stop marching until they legalize marijuana," said David Peel, an East Village musician in his 40's.The rally ended at 6 p.m. when a column of over 200 police officers walked across Battery Park, forcing everyone to leave. Newshawk: E_Johnson Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Thomas J. LueckPublished: May 5, 2002Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:NORML's Ad Campaign Pictureshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ad.htmMillion Marijuana March 2002http://freedomtoexhale.com/million.htmCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #14 posted by schmeff on May 06, 2002 at 11:41:11 PT
Tiananmen Square or Dysfunction Junction?
Six thousand peaceful protestors.One hundred forty-eight arrests.Does this seem like the sort of place that would have a statue in the harbor dedicated to Liberty?
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Comment #13 posted by greenfox on May 06, 2002 at 10:13:22 PT
More police than there are protesters
This is sort of f*cked up. I mean, if you look at the pictures of the march, I see more cops than I do protesters. Now, this is NYC. This is where some serious shit happened. I mean, 9/11 of course. And so how do we "look for those terror-ists"? Easy. Send ALL of the cops to screw with the pot smokers.IT MAKES ME SICK.
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Comment #12 posted by schmeff on May 06, 2002 at 09:18:50 PT
Article I
Take a look at those photos from the NYC MMM and ask yourselves if this is what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they sanctified the right of peaceful assembly.Can you convene a peaceful assembly, where you can exercise your constitutionally protected right of speech, free from the threat of harm or intimidation, when you are ringed by armed representatives of the 'government'?Can you spot the terrorists in these photos?Do you remember those photos of the 'detainees' at Guantanamo Bay that Donald Rumsfeld was so embarrassed about? Compare them to these photos. The 'detainees" were just exercising their right of peaceful assembly!
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Comment #11 posted by BGreen on May 05, 2002 at 15:25:27 PT
Thanks, eco-man
The picture of that young man in anguish made me start crying.This proves the police were lying when they called this a peaceful demonstration. This shows unprovoked violence perpetrated by the jack-booted gestapo.
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Comment #10 posted by eco-man on May 05, 2002 at 12:25:48 PT
New York City MMM photos, links. Indymedia.
Here are some photos from the NYC MMM march. 2 of the photos are in the MMM Cannabis Action Yahoo Group archive at this specific location:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cannabisaction/message/7One photo is a compilation-montage of 4 photos that cryote stitched together from photos at NYC Indymedia.
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/message.shtml?1x41100To see the web pages with the larger versions of the 4 photos click the first 4 links below:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=23798
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=23796
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=23794
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=23793The knee-to-the-head thumbnail photo can be seen full size here:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=23818For links and thumbnails to many, many more NYC MMM photos:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=23813
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Comment #9 posted by Jose Melendez on May 05, 2002 at 06:53:24 PT
Question: Why do cloves smell like pot?
from:http://www.foodproductdesign.com/archive/2001/0401sr.htmlIn addition to whole and ground cloves, substantial quantities of clove oil are used in the United States — some in food products, but most heavily in perfumes, cosmetics, medicines, mouthwashes and toothpastes. The oil is dominated by eugenol (70% to 85%), eugenol acetate (15%) and beta-caryophyllene (5% to 12%), which together make up 99% of the oil.
Clove-oil products are distilled from the stems and leaves, as well as the buds. The leaves yield roughly 2%, the stems about 4% to 6% and the buds approximately 15% to 17% of essential oil
More on cloves...
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Comment #8 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on May 05, 2002 at 06:38:14 PT
Have A Marijuana
Potpal - to confuse the police, don't smoke tobacco - smoke those clove cigarettes. They smell disturbingly similar to cannabis. They use them for stage productions where the actor doesn't want to smoke tobacco, and you should watch the technicians backstage salivating... Good to see David Peel out marching, and good to see it mentioned fairly favorably in the NYT, except for glossing over the arrests. >>The rally ended at 6 p.m. when a column of over 200 police officers walked across Battery Park, forcing everyone to leave. Yup. Sounds peaceful to me!
David Peel
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Comment #7 posted by eco-man on May 05, 2002 at 05:40:24 PT
cannabisaction yahoogroups.com for MMM reports.
Please forward this email address:
cannabisaction yahoogroups.com
Email address for sending in MMM reports, photos. No need to subscribe. Public archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cannabisaction/messagesNew MMM (Million Marijuana March) Yahoo Group with Public Archive. For MMM Cannabis Liberation Day rally reports, ideas, info, city lists, photos, etc.. Anybody, including non-members, can post. Feel free to forward MMM-related email to this public archive and public record of MMM Cannabis Action success worldwide!! Group Name: Million Marijuana March. World Cannabis Action.
Homepage Address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cannabisaction/
Posting: Anyone can post {No need to subscribe].
Attachments: Email attachments are permitted {great for sending in MMM photos!)*Around 200 cities worldwide and counting!!!
The main page for the continually-updated,
clickable, all-on-one-page, alphabetical city
list for MMM 2002, Cannabis Liberation Day,
is at the page here:
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/y/mmm2002.htm and
http://corporatism.tripod.com/mmm2002.htm and
http://members.fortunecity.com/multi19/mmm2002.htm Please also send in personal or published MMM rally reports to Dana Beal
dana cures-not-wars.org and to Cannabis News at
submissions cannabisnews.com
where they will be posted at:
http://www.cannabisnews.com *FoM of Cannabis News has a compilation of links to MMM 2002 rally reports:
http://freedomtoexhale.com/million.htm *CannabisNews - Cannabis Archives. MMM rally reports may show up here first before showing up in the FoM compilation page above.
http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml For now, MMM is one of the top features at New York City Indymedia and Italy Indymedia.
http://nyc.indymedia.org/ and
http://italy.indymedia.org/
There is a rough translation of the Italy feature here:
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/message.shtml?1x41080
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Comment #6 posted by potpal on May 05, 2002 at 05:09:16 PT
Civil disobedience
Next time all 6000 ought to light up at the same time, say
4:20? How many policemen would it take to lead away 6000 people. Annual marches may not be enough. We had 'sit-ins' now we need 'smoke-ins'. Of course, a little confusion won't hurt either, like smoking joints of tobacco...' Any sightings on tv news regarding these marches? Nothing on the BBC web site this am...
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Comment #5 posted by Patrick on May 05, 2002 at 02:55:19 PT
Peaceful?
…billed by its organizers as Million Marijuana March 2002, was peaceful. All arrests were for possession or use of marijuana, according to Officer Guy Braun, a police spokesman.There is nothing "PEACEFUL" about being arrested against your will, by force, for smoking cannabis or having a hold of it in your hand as a symbol of government corruption.
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Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on May 05, 2002 at 02:32:24 PT
plainclothes officers
Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing? Maybe, or were they 'Judas Goats' that kaptinemo referred to?Where were they "led away" to?"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on May 05, 2002 at 01:14:08 PT
People have been "led away" before
The police deployed hundreds of officers at the rally and apparently had rigorous enforcement in mind, since many plainclothes officers were among the marchers. Repeatedly, officers led away individuals and groups of protesters who were seen smoking marijuana.
Throughout human history, it has mattered a great deal where people were "led away" to after they were "led away" by people in uniform carrying weapons.I guess in the New York Times, it's okay not to ask this question.
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on May 05, 2002 at 00:56:43 PT
No pouting zone
The police declined to estimate the size of the crowd.
Imperialism, the final stage of capitalism -- V.I.LeninBitchiness, the final stage of whoredom. -- Venichka the drunk
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Comment #1 posted by BGreen on May 04, 2002 at 23:32:12 PT
The mayor had something to prove
"Hundreds of officers" weren't protecting the streets of New York on Saturday. How much real crime was taking place while the city spent thousands deploying the gestapo upon peaceful marchers.We live in Bashcrofts' version of "Bobby McGee:""Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."
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