Cannabis Liberation Day 2012
In light of the recent suppression of the Dutch Cannabis industry, namely the Weed Pass and the 15% Rule, June 17th was a chance to gather, rally and celebrate the plant. Amsterdam's famous Westerpark provided the setting for the fourth annual Cannabis Liberation Day, a collection of speakers, musical acts, local sound systems, seed companies, hemp products, activists and legal advocates - plus the usual assortment of growers, smokers and medical patients. Hosted by the VOC (Alliance for the Abolition of Cannabis Prohibition), several thousand people showed up primarily to protest against the Weed Pass; the nation's largest Cannabis culture festival also acted as the launch for the VOC's new Vote2Smoke campaign.
The Cannabisbevrijdingsdag, as it's known in Dutch, occurs at a particularly tense political time, as the cabinet fell in April and will be replaced after elections in September.
Potential visitors to our capital city have been worried that the same policies currently in place in southern Holland will soon be implemented in the rest of the country – including our capital city. Amsterdam is slated to adopt the Weed Pass (officially known as the 'Club Card') along with the remainder of the nation as of January, 2013. In addition, all Cannabis products that test above THC (notably ice-water extracted hash) are supposed to be banned from coffeeshop sale.
These ideas have caused murmurs of panic throughout the various international growers' and smokers' communities (both in person and online); however, the superficial harshness of the measure is diluted when people realize that the only support these repressive and destructive policies enjoy comes from the recently-dissolved coalition of right-wing, conservative political parties.
Attending the Cannabis Liberation Day on that Sunday in June belied any notion that Cannabis is no longer accepted in the Netherlands. Visitors were treated to a new feature this year, known as the Speakers Corner.
Highlighted was the new Vote2Smoke campaign (www.vote2smoke.nl) which encourages the Cannabis-friendly population of Holland to become more active in politics, and informs the public as to how they can vote for the parties who actually support weed tolerance in the Netherlands. For now, the coffeeshop industry is definitely still open for business – regardless of where you're from. The large attendance at this year's Cannabis Liberation Day, coupled with the fervor of its panel of speakers, proved that Amsterdam still welcomes pro-pot people from around the world, with open arms – and stash tins.
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Soft Secrets
