Cannabis advocates are to hold a march and street festival in Taipei tomorrow calling for dialogue with the Presidential Office on liberalizing cannabis policies.
The Green Sensation festival is to be held on south side of the Legislative Yuan, with the march to start at 4:20pm.
There is to be a longer route near Ketagalan Boulevard this year, in addition to activities marking this year’s 420 International Weed Day, Green Sensation spokesman Chung Ho-yun (鍾和耘) said in an interview on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Green Sensation
“We wish to march close to the Presidential Office to appeal for the decriminalization of cannabis and to permit its medical use, hoping to present our petition for holding dialogue with President William Lai (賴清德) on this issue,” Chung said, adding that they would also seek support from lawmakers.
Chung has organized the event since 2019.
“It is an indigenous Taiwanese cultural movement, setting down roots for vigorous organic growth each year,” he said.
“This year we received approval from the Ministry of the Interior to register an organization, the Taiwan Weed Safety Education Association,” he said.
“Our movement can strive forward to educate the public on food and medicine safety, presenting new scientific concepts and mobilizing for greater public participation,” he said.
Chung said that while publicizing tomorrow’s event, most people he spoke to agreed that drunk driving is a much more serious problem than the medical use of cannabis and related products to alleviate chronic pain.
Zoe Lee (李菁琪), known as Taiwan’s cannabis lawyer, and a human rights advocate and environmentalist, said in a recent interview that she is pushing for Taiwan to legalize the use of cannabis and to end harsh prosecution of users.
“The government’s repressive measures have not mitigated the situation. The only effects are to drive the trade underground and drive up prices,” she said.
Cannabis is illegal in Taiwan, listed as a Category 2 narcotic under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
Chung and Lee said they hope political leaders would follow international trends and decriminalize cannabis, but that Taiwan is being shackled by previous misguided policies to frame the plant as a “poisonous, toxic drug.”
The activists are appealing for Taiwan to end its “war on cannabis,” to raise the allowable limit of its active compound tetrahydrocannabinol from 0.001 percent to 0.3 percent, and to regulate its use in accordance with international conventions, Chung and Lee said, adding that the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs has recognized its medicinal value.
Tomorrow’s event is to start at 1pm with speeches by leading decriminalization advocates, followed by entertainment by Taiwanese bands, including The Ridiculous, the Soul Heist Traditional Jazz Band and Chillsome Band.
Activities are to conclude at about 6:30pm, the organizers said.
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