THE
MILLION MARIJUANA MARCH
A Historical View
The International Day of Protest that started on the first of May
1998, in New York City as THE MILLION MARIJUANA
MARCH, has become an Internationally recognized banner
of marijuana reform and protest.
The idea of this protest first came from the organization, CURES
NOT WARS and it's members and its mentor DANA BEAL (the founder
of the SMOKE-IN in 1969). CURES NOT WARS
is headquartered in New York City and had effected the marijuana
movement's most recent attempt to exert political muscle on the
City of New York and throughout the United States.
Facing down Mayor Rudolph Guilliani, Cures
Not Wars went to Federal court for the right to march in
their traditional protest, the historical 29 year old, Fifth Avenue
Marijuana March. The first Million Marijuana
March, drew thousands to Washington Square, where the protesters
then marched to Battery Park in lower Manhattan under the watchful
eye of NYC's finest. The march itself was not unique, as there have
been hundreds of marches and rallies in the last thirty years drawing
tens of thousands of participants. What was different, was the way
the marijuana movement began to coalesce under the moniker 'THE
MILLION MARIJUANA MARCH'. Internationally the banner
had been picked up in an attempt to reform the marijuana laws of
Great Britain on an excellent site put together by the ICC
- the International Cannabis Campaign. (www.schmoo.co.uk/mayday).
Marches were now being held worldwide in over twenty cities, among
them London, Auckland NZ, Melbourne Australia, Amsterdam, Johannesburg
South Africa, just to mention a few.
What was an independent attempt by many groups to form an International
Marijuana Day, had become a full throttle endeavor on the internet
to assemble the largest pro-marijuana protest in history. Cures
Not Wars (www.cures-not-wars.org)
enlisted the help of it's sister organization and long time direct
action engine, C.A.M.P.,
to promote the event world wide. The Coalition
for the Abolition of Marijuana
Prohibition, called CAMP,
(www.worldcamp.org) was formed in 1978
to bring together divergent groups to protest platforms and other
forums acceptable to all viewpoints. Out of this coalition grew
the NYC Fifth Avenue Pot Parade (1978 / YIP) and the 30th annual
marijuana protest in the nation's capital this last July 4th and
every July 4th till the job is done.
It is now promoted as the 4th of July Coalition (www.fourth
of july.org). CAMP was also instrumental
in supporting initiatives in the early 80's in California (CMI)
and Oregon (OMI). CAMP also participated
in the 1980 International Cannabis Alliance for Reform convention
(ICAR) with its sister group the Legalization of Cannabis Campaign
(LCC) which has now become the ICC.
After visiting the site, www.millionmarijuanamarch.com,
a person could keep track of the progress of The THE
MILLION MARIJUANA MARCH as it proceeded. Listed were
all the sponsors and endorsements. This one-of-a-kind portal had
handy links to all the useful web sites that promote marijuana reform.
Concentrating on the MMM, Saturday
May 1st, 1999, it featured times and places for people to assemble,
maps, lists of speakers, bands playing, resources like stickers,
posters, dates of 420 benefits, products available to those wishing
to promote the event, and individual contacts around the world.
Cities participating across the United States included New York
City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, Washington
D.C., Tampa, Austin TX, and many, many others.
Now, at the end of the Twentieth Century, we have found a tool that
can effectively bring us all together. With the resolve of all its
participants, we can bring an end to the largest and most brutal
assault on any one cultural minority this century, the marijuana
culture. Out of the successes of the 1998 and 1999 MILLION
MARIJUANA MARCH we have created the MILLENNIUM
MARIJUANA MARCH. This can be the world's biggest and
most successful direct action event to date. It can be with your
help. Tell everyone about this web site and encourage them to participate
and support our unconquerable quest for justice. We need everyone's
help, albeit little or large.
CANNABiS 2001.com
Coalition
for the
Abolition
of
Marijuana
Prohibition
P.O. Box 5718
Atlanta, Georgia 31107
Ph 404-522-2267
Fax 404-523-9004
E-mail
us at:
info@worldcamp.org
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