A diverse crowd of Cannabis enthusiasts rocked up early in Parktown on Saturday to walk through the streets of Johannesburg in support of our favourite plant. The march is global and this year happened locally in Gqeberha (their first one), Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and also in cities all over the world.

From the get go it was clear that not everyone was marching for the same reasons, and some were even marching for opposing reasons. Some have support for and some against the Cannabis For Private Purposes Bill. We have made our stance on the bill clear in our recent blogs here and here and here. Many see the bill as the end of the road, while in reality it’s a small stepping stone about privacy, not trade.

So why did I march? I march because Cannabis is still in the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992 where it never belonged. I march because I get daily phone calls from people caught up in one or more of our Crisis Points and unnecessary legal battles. I march because I want and need change to our Cannabis laws. I march in solidarity with the community.

Cannabis legalisation is a long and hard battle. The law is changed not on the streets where all the quasi-legal pot shops are, but in the courts and in the hearts and minds of folk that you meet and talk to on a daily basis. The law does not change like the flip of a switch, but in small increments.