I was on my way downtown to the library today, after a really early morning shift (8 a.m.-12 p.m.). Even a goddess of love gets cranky and bitchy and miserable after standing on her feet and dealing with the stupids, even for only four hours, and so I was nursing a headache and glaring balefully at the loud noisy guys at the back of the bus.
The driver lets us off near Queen’s Park (Trannadopers know what I’m talking about, it’s the Museum subway stop on the right side of Avenue). I climb out with the bunch of guys–and spot a cluster of blue tents just up ahead, among the trees and picnic benches.
“What’s going on?” I ask, as one of the kids lights up and the other climbs on a skateboard.
“It’s National Weed Day! Well, sort of, it’s the Weed March…” he yells over his shoulder as they run across the street.
Weed March?
Hey, forget the library–I am so down with this.
So I go and check it out. Currently there’s a reggae group playing, a whole bunch of people running around in skirts and green leaves, bikes everywhere, hot food stands with pop and samosas grilled on the barbecue, dogs barking, and hundreds of college students sitting in circles, smoking away.
Heh. As my friend and I were walking down the “quarter mile” (that’s a walkway between the dorms and the academic buildings for all you non-RIT dopers) we spotted a sign that said on 1:00 on saturday there would a march to try and make weed legal. I said, “How much do you want to bet that everybody will forget to show up?” Sure enough, a few hours ago there were about five people out there by the sundial, four of whom were about to leave, complaining that they were hungry.
Heh. There was this Simpsons episode where Homer is prescribed marijuana for his eyes shortly before Congress proposes a bill to outlaw it. Potheads assemble to stage concert/rally, but a while later realize the bill had been passed the previous day. Brilliant.
It’s called theMillion Marijuana March and happens in a bunch of places globally. It was fairly popular in Prague last year, but the weather was horrible yesterday, I’m sure that affected attendance.
You have never been to Hempfest. Although the legal definition of the gathering to to promote products made from hemp, a majority of the visitors have catching a buzz on their minds. I’ve gone twice and had a good time.
Former Torontonian here. I went to a NORML event at Nathan Phillips Square (City Hall) back in the late '70s or early '80s. It went very well, for the age when it occurred. Lots of people, rock groups, speakers, and joints going around, with the cops standing three feet away. They did nothing, and arrested nobody.
Not that it’s really important, but the year I attended that Toronto event was 1982, because the Downchild Blues Band played there, with their original pianist, Jane Vasey. She passed away later that year, and this was one of her last performances. So, there was a semi-relaxed atmosphere about cannabis among city officials at that time as well.
