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CANNABIS DAY CELEBRATED IN VICTORIA.
By admin | November 25, 2004
By Ted Smith
Another successful International Medical Marijuana Day (IMMD) was hosted in Victoria this year on Nov 15.
Though the silent art auction and slide show presentation were featured in Fridays edition of the Newsgroup papers, attendance at the downtown library was fairly small. However, those present were keen spectators of the first ever visual presentation of the CBC of C, and final bids for the art totalled over $1,200.
Thanks to everyone who donated art, time and mental effort with the art auction and slide show presentation. A special thanks to multi-media producer Christian Bell. Proceeds from the auction go to lawyer Bob Moore-Stewart for his work defending the club through its legal battles.
The City of Victoria proclaimed Nov 15 as IMMD for the 3rd straight year. This years dedication is the most progressive so far, with the council stating that, the courts have recognized many existing medical cannabis groups as being valid and important components in the countrys harm reduction strategy.
The first ever IMMD occurred on Nov 15, 1994 in Washington, DC. The following year an event was hosted at Eatons in downtown Victoria by Hempology 101 while a rally was held in San Francisco, California. It may be that since 1995, few groups except us have organized on Nov 15.
No one was arrested giving cookies out this year, though crumbs of evidence were left spread across the floor. I have tried not to touch any cookies in public for over 4 years, which is when I was arrested before the annual giveaway. Police witnessed the event in 1999 when I first came up with the idea of giving pot cookies away to raise public awareness, and I was not arrested. However, on Nov 15, 2000, the Victoria Police Department decided to arrest me upon first sight of a cookie, and the only cookies eaten that year disappeared in the evidence room because I was charged for possessing 37 less cookies than the 420 I had prepared. Trial set for March 14 and 15, 2005.
We hope in the future that other cities will declare Nov 15 as IMMD, as activists learn to use municipal governments to turn the War on Drugs around. We also hope that when our legal battles are settled and paid for, that we can use this annual silent art auction to create a legal defense fund for medical cannabis cases. Other groups could duplicate these tactics educating the public while raising critical legal funds.
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