Over 10,000 participants took to the streets of London on Saturday to show support for relaxing the nation’s marijuana laws. The high profile protest, organized by the Independent on Sunday newspaper which is campaigning to decriminalize the drug, marked the first time in 30 years so many British citizens stood up for marijuana-law reform.
“The widespread turnout is not surprising,” said Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation. “Recent surveys and public opinion polls indicate that British voters solidly support legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational purposes.”
“What we want to see is [Parliament] debating [legalizing marijuana] openly, freely, and weighing the evidence from the World Health Organization and from the British Medical Council,” said Independent on Sunday editor Rosie Boycott, who attended the march. Recently, the campaign gained supporters in Parliament, as well as business giants Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop.
A poll last month of 243 newly elected MPs revealed that 65 percent favored establishing a royal commission to reconsider the country’s drug policies, the Independent on Sunday reported. However, Labour prime minister Tony Blair said that he intends to keep Britain’s drug laws unchanged, and Home secretary Jack Straw says he will not sanction an open debate on the subject of marijuana decriminalization.
Paul Flynn, a Labour member of Parliament who favors marijuana-law reform, said the government is plagued by “ignorance and hypocrisy” on the issue.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751 or visit the website: http://www.marijuananews.com.