Rallies protest against marijuana laws
By Bill Mason
BRISBANE — Some 500 people rallied in King George Square for a "pot-nic" on March 18 as part of a national day of action called by HEMP (Help End Marijuana Prohibition).
Speakers included John Braby, Tony Kneipp and Resistance organiser Zanny Begg.
Braby denounced the Queensland drug laws as an attack on civil liberties, and slammed Premier Wayne Goss for intervening to prevent law reform.
Kneipp spoke about the campaign to resist the anti-marijuana laws, and his own court case currently under way on the issue.
Begg called for support for a rally against woodchipping on Saturday, March 25, at 1pm at the same venue, explaining that cultivating hemp is a viable alternative to cutting down our few remaining rainforests as a source of paper and cardboard.
The Sydney component (pictured) of the March 18 national day of action attracted 300 people to a rally outside Parliament House. Rallies were held in most other capital cities. Photo by Peter Boyle.