Marchers call for legalisation of cannabis

A crowd of about 500 marchers turned out yesterday for the biggest "legalise cannabis" rally to date in Ireland.

The Irish Anti-Prohibition of Cannabis March was the culmination of several days of activities organised by campaigners, which included an information stand on Grafton Street and concerts.

The Centre for Cannabis Policy Reform, in conjunction with The GrowShop in Dublin, staged the event to coincide with the Global Marijuana March, which has been running on the first weekend in May worldwide since 1999.

The Centre for Cannabis Policy Reform has been trying to gather 10,000 signatures nationwide calling for the legalisation of cannabis.

The petition is to be presented to the incoming government.

A low-key Garda presence accompanied yesterday's march from the Garden of Remembrance to the Central Bank and there were no arrests.

In fliers handed out before the event, protesters were urged to be "sensible" and to think of the consequences of their actions while taking part in the rally.

Participants, most of whom were in their early 20s, chanted "free the weed" and "we're not criminals" as the march made its way down O'Connell Street.

They carried banners proclaiming "Make Prohibition History" and "In all things of nature, there is something of the marvellous. Legalise Marijuana."

They were addressed by the veteran cannabis campaigner Luke Flanagan, a member of Roscommon County Council.

Mr Flanagan, who has been sentenced in the past for cannabis possession, said the law treated him no better than a paedophile.

As a convicted drug user, he said he could not adopt children, social services could take away his two daughters at any time and he was prohibited from visiting many countries, including the United States and Australia.

Mr Flanagan, who stood in both the 1999 European election and 2002 general election on a pro-cannabis platform, said the laws prohibiting the legalisation of the drug were "completely and utterly impractical" and were being manipulated by the political establishment to "score political points".

He estimated that 600,000 people in Ireland had admitted to using the drug and that between €400 and €600 million was spent on cannabis annually in Ireland.

If it was taxed, it could be used to go after dealers who pushed hard drugs, he claimed. "How can it be said that this type of money would be better off in the hands of Veronica Guerin's killers?"

Mr Flanagan said the medical case against legalisation was built on "lies and misinformation". There was no evidence that cannabis was a gateway drug for more harmful substances or that it could cause schizophrenia.