Today’s 4/20 festivities still need to be viewed as a protest.
That’s the message cannabis activist Jodie Emery told the Straight and other attendees at today’s event when asked about the Liberal government’s proposed legislation for legalization.
Asked how this year’s event felt different given her recent arrest in Toronto where she was charged with a number of cannabis-related offences, Emery said for her, it was ‘just another day in the ongoing campaign for acceptance and equality for our culture and community.’
‘I’m ready to keep fighting for the good fight, and I believe there will be more challenges ahead, but I take any opportunity I can to celebrate our culture and enjoy the day before heading off to Toronto for court early tomorrow morning,’ she added.
She urged cannabis users at the event to remember the origins of 4/20, and that today should not be looked at as a celebration of impending legalization.
‘Everybody thinks that we’re celebrating legalization today, but the fact is the legislation is just more criminalization,’ she said.
‘So while we celebrate cannabis as always on 4/20, we have to remember it’s also a protest against prohibition policies that unjustly criminalize our fellow Canadians.’
Watch the video below for a look at 4/20, and see a collection of photographs from the event here.
