necessary preamble: The 2008 Nimbin Marijuana
March details can be found at the bottom of this rather long webpage. Yes it
could be reformatted / fragmented into NOW FIRST and HISTORY if its clicked
upon. BUT. all input thus far is that the brief history is worth reading and
tends to give one a better understanding of the event they will participate
in (by default) should they visit the
NimbinMardiGRASS in
2008.
The first time the Million Man Marijuana March was celebrated at the
Nimbin
Mardi Grass was 1999 and even though it wasn't an official 'programmed' event,
[last
century computers were either misunderstood or considered demonic tools of
the enemy in Nimbin]
the 1999 Nimbin MMMMarch
did set the underground tone that has endured to this day - we don't actually
march in Nimbin, the nonofficial smokesperson of the ACLRM usually high jacks the "Main Mardi Grass Speakers" at 4:15.40
and sounds the 4 minute 20 second "roll up" alert for the 4 20 Demonstration. In 1999
we handed out
FREE Marijuana, over 200
all natural - all organic cannabis "space balls" each
wrapped with a poem called
FREE Marijuana.
The second time around was a bit
different because it was a new millenium and the computer age had arrived.
Not only was the 2000 mmmarch on the official Mardi Grass program, but
it was the first mmmmarch on earth to be broadcast
live to the Internet. We launched the
Freedom Ride in a
blaze of electric digeridoos and had the 3rd largest crowd of cannabis law
reform activists assembled on Earth the one day it really matters!
In 2001,
London cancelled and New York was busted out of contention by the police who
prevented the NY MMMMarch from forming and thus the tiny village of
Nimbin Australia ended up hosting the
biggest event on earth that year.........
A
sizable cyber audience and a couple of smiling policemen watched as the MMMMarch 'rolled up' outside the Nimbin H.E.M.P. Embassy, the peacebus was in the center
of thousands of people rolling joints and it's "Blues Brothers horns" exhorting the crowd to show their defiance of the
illogical laws by lighting up at exactly 4.20 PM.
snick-snick-flicker-flash-flame...
inhale, exhale, inhale. Say it. No - More - Drug - War - Jails.
inhale, exhale, inhale. Sing it.. No - More - Drug - War - Jails.
inhale, exhale, inhale. Shout it... No - More - Drug - War - Jails.
inhale, exhale, inhale. DEMAND IT... No - More - Drug - War - Jails.
When the smoke had finally
cleared, even the old local tokers agreed that it was the most joints they'd
ever seen simultaneously rolled and ignited in the main street of Nimbin - and that's
saying something!
In 2002 the
Nimbin MMMMarch was centred on web cam imagery uploaded using the
Big Bong Mobile Webcasting Unit
which was parked right out side the
H.E.M.P Bar /
HEMP Embassy
complex- right in the centre of the vortex that is the
Mardi Grass at
precisely 4.20 P.M........
It is as impossible to guesstimate
the size of the roll up for the 2002 Nimbin MMMMarch as it is to guesstimate
the total inhalance of cannabis during the Protestival, but
every number I have heard so far is in excess of 4 and 20 thousand
cannabists! As usual in Nimbin, we din't march in a straight line, in fact,
truth be told, we din't actually march at all, not much point even trying
really, I mean even attempting to marshal the entire MardiGrass crowd to
march from point A - via point B -to point C would be harder than herding
420 black cats at midnight and so, we decided to ask the entire crowd (via
the loud speakers) to take one step forward, then three steps back, two
steps forward and then one step back (a little semi-dance step thing we call
the 'real pace' of cannabis law reform) which of course resulted in as much
confusion as marshalling a march or changing an illogical law, point is that
thousands upon thousands of people come together every year in Nimbin for
exactly the same reason.... To call for an End to Cannabis Prohibition.
the 2003 Event....
We knew going in
that that Nimbin was the only venue in Australia hosting a MMMMarch in 2003,
we also figured that the 2003 crowd numbers were going reflect the downtrend
in international tourism and so, to off set this, we decided that we needed
to toke our demonstration up a level or 4.20 and do something different.
The idea to
do
something different
alarmed many of the hard core members of the ACLRM, many mutinous murmurs of
dissent were heard until it was realized that the active word was
different,
not do
something.
This is not to say that hard core members of ACLRM are apathetic, more to
point out that the hard core members of the ACLRM are all too well aware that
actually
doing something
in the short term can be highly counterproductive in the long term. Example
= Lobbying a government to change the law to allow ONLY doctors to proscribe
ONLY "grown under a government license" indoor hydroponic
cannabis. Short term result terminally ill people get some pain relief, AIDS
sufferers can keep their other meds down and the government and medical
industries have a new cash cow. Long term we talking the industrialization
of cannabis, not unlike releasing Mary Jane from jail
only to lock her in the laboratory and the sweat shop. Truth is that no sunlight or wind on the
leaves, no worms in the soil and an over load of chemicals in the water
combines to create an artificial pain relieving medicine that cannot be used
as a preventative nor as a cure- it's relegalize or nothing - say the hard
core of the ACLRM.
>> back to the
MMMMarch>>
At 4.20 PM on
the 3rd of May 2003 a huge cloud of highly green smoke wafted out the front
door of the H.E.M.P Bar to signal the official toke-off of the 5th Nimbin MMMMarch
and the start of something different. Rather than a march, a parade, a joint
rolling and/or smoking demonstration or some other variation of a 'short
term action/event', we embarked upon a "festival wide - 4 and 20 hour long" demonstration of
responsible cannabis use that included the entire crowd and concluded at 4.20 PM Sunday at the
Mobile Big Bong
Burger Bar in Peace Park.
So what did the
4 and 20 hour long Nimbin MMMMarch accomplish besides the combustion of prodigious amounts of
cannabis? Short term? Proof positive that cannabis does not induce
insanity, criminality or death. Long term? You gotta figure that a
whole lot more working, smoking voting citizens embraced the concept of just
cannabis law reform and that even more pressure will be applied to the N.S.W
Government over the coming weeks and months to follow in the footsteps of the ever so
sensible and conservative Swiss as they head down the path towards just
cannabis relegalization.
In 2004, at precisely
4.20 PM
Australian Eastern Standard time on
Saturday May
the First 2004 all MMMMarchers
that were't already in position assembled inside and outside the
H.E.M.P Bar /
HEMP Embassy
complex- right in the centre of the vortex that
was the
Mardi Grass
Where upon a flame was lit in front of the hempbar's webcam>> which will
then lit a special ceremonial Joint and Candle which stepped into the street.... right as the Kombi Konvoy clattered by>>>> lost in the
swirl of the main street madness, the hard core marijuana marchers merged
with the crowd, strolled thru the food stalls and trinket stalls
to Peace Park >>>> to where the peace chairs weren't - not enough chairs
were available due to an organizing discombobulation - and at least 420 of
us, from all over earth stood in a physical representation of "Peace for Pot and Pot for Peace"
for at least 420 seconds, which I am sure would have shown up as a peace sign
shaped cloud on a satellite camera had we of had one........
Bottom line? Forming a peace circle is a bit like sky diving .......
No photo can do it justice, it's an experience !
Unlike all
previous years, the 2005 Marijuana March DID NOT coincide with
the Nimbin Mardigrass on May 1st
2005.
Thus for the first time,
in a long time, the good citizens of Nimbin and the rainbow region
showed their 'grass root' support for Just Cannabis
Law Reform in a no glitz, no glamour demonstration with out the
thousands of MardiGrass revellers, it was exactly "the same"
as every other town
on Earth.
So march is what we did,
after assembling in the H.E.M.P Bar
at 4.20 PM.... ETA Nimbin Police Station at 42 minutes or so past
420.... and then we tried something new, we DID NOT smoke cannabis
during our march (medical users were, of course, exempt) along Cullen Street
to the Police Station, as we walked down the main street we felt
exactly as we would in most every town in Australia because our numbers were
less than 4 and 20 as we walked down 'commerce street" to an empty
looking police
station, just the really committed people, the people who REALLY want
to change the laws, indeed, there were more people waiting at the bus
stop to board the bus to leave Nimbin than there were in the march.
They all looked on as we all sat down and 'pointedly' didn't smoke cannabis
and very quietly did we chant...
Please help us change the Law.
Please help us lobby the Government.
Please help us ReLegalize
Cannabis for fibre, for medicine, for fuel and for food.
Images above taken by a Japanese Tourist who
later downloaded them at the H.E.M.P Bar
At the
empty looking Police Station,
whilst all assembled abstained from smoking cannabis out of
politeness to the Police who may or may not have been there- medical users exempt- Max Stone made
a 4 minute 20 second presentation of the ACLRM's latest activism strategy,
the ReLegalize Just OutDoor Cannabis First
Strategy, which is not designed to split
the movement by keeping indoor hydroponic cannabis "illegal",
it is seen as the natural solution to the Cannabis Conundrum by the
members of the A.C.L.R.M, expending our limited resources to lobby
the Government with our Relegalize Out Door
Cannabis First Strategy, lobbying towards establishing a
difference "in the eyes of the law" between "out door-organic" and "indoor-hydroponic"
cannabis would enable Industrial Hemp crops
to flourish for fiber, for fuel and for food, and perhaps most importantly,
Relegalizing just outdoor cannabis would enable the average
pot smoker to break free from the black market.
"Its a hippy thing"
said Max Stone. "After all, there is a huge difference between
a dozen or so plants growing organically in the back yard for
personal use and an "Indoor
hydro lab" designed to make mega bucks. I am sure the police
can tell the difference between cannabis plants grown for green and
those grown for greed, I mean, the indoor stuff looks like Arnold Swarzeneggers biceps."
"I'm not saying indoor
cannabis is more evil than Chernobyl, just saying that it's
artificial and definitely not the "homeopathic" wonder plant that
"outdoor cannabis is and whilst ever
Cannabis Prohibition is in place, criminals will exploit the market
and "small time" cannabis users get caught in the cross fire. Too many
resources are being wasted on enforcing cannabis prohibition, with the end result being
that an ounce of indoor cannabis costs as much as a dole check. Just
think of how wonderful Nimbin and Australia will be once cannabis
re-establishes itself as one of humanities most useful plants.
Once Max Stone finished
the" less than 4 and 20 seconds presentation of strategic direction"
of the following years activism in a very strained voice caused by
MardiGrass,
all the four and twenty activists stood up for Free Marijuana and
then respectfully departed
the empty looking police station and returned to the H.E.M.P Bar to begin the ramp up of the
Big Joint to Canberra in 2006.
2006:
see BigJoint.org ..... The Big Joint
made it all the way to Canberra as promised!
4:15:40 AEST... webgreetings MardiGrass and the
mainstreet of Nimbin, the time is almost four twenty, so I would ask
everyone hold out your joint straight in front of you, now, the
GoogleCopter is almost here and you will see it before you hear it and it
will appear as a very small speck to the north, everyone point their
joints towards the North. Now the GoogleCopter is going to take lots of
pictures so I want everyone who is not listening to these loudspeakers to
keep walking and acting as background, I'd like to thank each and everyone
of you for participating in the Biggest Cannabis Law Reform Demonstration
on planet earth. Okay, arms out stretched and joints pointed to the north,
can't be much longer now, the clock is ticking and it won't be long before
we get to see the GoogleCopter, and while we are waiting I would like to
seize this opportunity to thank the huge number of cybercitizens who have
been asking GoogleEarth to update it's map for the last year or so, it's
very close now, very close to happening now, I can almost see the
GoogleCopter, except its coming from the south, can every one turn 180%
anticlockwise to the south, that's right smoothly slowly turn to the south
and look for the small dot appearing in the south. South? Did I say south,
I meant to say east, its east, sorry everybody, my mistake, keep spinning
smoothly slowly peacefully towards the east, arms out stretched- joints
ready to light, okay, I can see you are all spinning around in circles, so
everyone say GOOGLE and take a picture! I can see the GoogleCopter? Can't
you? LOLOLOL and now, in time with thousands of others, lets take part in
the peace wave that sweeps around earth each day and every day and Light
our JoinTs and think peace for pot and pot for peace!
2008...
Finally, you made it! You are now fully briefed as
to what to expect, an event that is somewhat different every year and
always somewhat the same and I always seems to say, this year, 2008, will be no exception.
For the tenth time, the main thing that will be staying the same is the
4.20 P.M 'start time' of the Nimbin Global Marijuana March another thing
that is staying the same will be Cannabis Dave
Lighting the 420 Joint
in front of the H*E*M*P*Bars webcam, now I come to think on it, after over
10 years of spreading the word about 420, what will be different to
previous years will be the sheer volume of cannabists who already know
about simultaneously light a joint at 4.20 PM and thinking 'pot for
peace - peace for pot' thoughts. Another thing that will be the same, is
that at 4.20 the Kombi Konvoy is due to arrive in the green smoke circle
in the center of town (as seen on
the image below) in front of the H*E*M*P*Bar at
exactly 4.20 PM same as it did in 2004.
It was the 10th Global
Marijuana March and the venue was the same as every year since 2000, the
www.NimbinHEMPbar.com (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) however this year,
the H*EM*P bar had been closed by court order at noon on the Friday before
MardiGrass!
Cops up the Ante on NimbinMardiGrass
Police today informed
the organisers of the Nimbin Mardi Grass that they will be making an
application to close the Nimbin
Museum and the Hemp Bar for
72 hours over Mardi Grass.
"The police are using
a piece of archaic legislation (Section
15C of the Restricted Premises Act 1943) to, in effect. close two of
Nimbin's most significant tourist attractions during the busiest weekend of
the year," said spokesperson for the Nimbin Mardi Grass Organising Group and
Nimbin Museum, Michael Balderstone.
The application will
go before a magistrate in the Lismore court on Friday morning.
Balderstone described
the action as "antagonistic and provocative."
"The police keep
assuring us they want a safe Mardi Grass," he said. "What's the closing of
the Museum and the Hemp Bar during Mardi Grass got to do with safety?"
"If one wanted a safe
weekend in Nimbin, one would close the pub," he said.
"But it's another day
in Nimbin and another day of Drug War harassment by the Lismore Area
Command," said Balderstone.
"The public money
being wasted by the local police trying to suppress Australia's second most
popular tourism destination is as stupid as it is appalling," he said.
"Recent media debate
about trial-ing some kind of legalised cannabis supply has clearly shown the
north coast community of NSW, if not all of Australia, is ready for it," he
said.
As you can imagine, having the H*E*M*P Bar and its live web cam shut down
and a sign on it's door saying "Gone to Mardi Grass" meant I was in a bit of
a sticky situation from an 'organizational' point of view. Fortunate for me,
the previous decades worth of 4 20's had left such an impression in the
minds of all the hardcore repeat MardiGrassers, that I almost didn't need to
mention it, but, mention it I did. At 20 minutes past the hour, every hour,
on the main festival sound system I talked up the event. MardiGrass Saturday
was a very POLICE intensive atmosphere, road blocks around the town, riot
squad in bullet proof sunglasses every where you looked. I urged everyone if
they was going to smoke one joint all day, let it be at 420 today when they
could light that joint in global unity with the millions of other people all
around earth who will also be lighting up at 420. And I always make a point
of asking that when you do light up at 420, let it not be an act of
defiance, let it be an act of peace, a sharing, a celebration and a thing
you do every day at 420 until the law is
changed.................... Peace for Pot ------------ Pot for
Peace
Best part is that outside the H*E*M*P Bar wasn't the only venue for the 420
Demonstration, H*E*M*P President Michael Balderstone did a HUGE 420 Demo in
Peace Park, Captain Reefer did another in Allsop Park, the Stage down in the
Markets did a 420 and pretty much everyone everywhere was part of the
Demonstration and if I had to add one last thought it would be that 4.20 PM
on Saturday was about the only time that the main street of Nimbin had that
traditional smoky mardigrass look to it.
