Day of Marijuana – Yes or No to Marijuana Legalization

About 5,000 people gathered on Friday on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for a rally in favor of legalizing marijuana.

A thick cloud of marijuana smoke was visible at the rally which took place on April 20, where several of the activists gathered people. As for the RCMP, they had strengthened their presence on the Hill too.

"Even though marijuana is a prohibited drug in Canada, the RCMP will look after the event, said the RCMP spokesman Lucy Shorey. Our main aim is that the event will take place safely. "

"Our officers can take action if necessary and if it is in the interest of public security," added the spokesman.

In other cities in North America, demonstrations were also organized for the International Day of cannabis. In Vancouver, for example, organizers expected 20,000 people.

No to legalization

Actually, the government does not intend to change its policy.

Carl Vallee, the press secretary of Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the following "These drugs are prohibited because of the detrimental side effects ones have on their users and on society in a whole, plus violent crime. He added that the government has not any interest in marijuana legalizing or doing it more accessible to young people. "

But on the other hand, the New Democratic Party (NDP) does not believe that marijuana should be criminalized, but it did not call for its legalization.

George Soule, the press officer of the NDP leader Thomas Mulcair pointed out that nobody would go to jail or became a criminal if he or she had just taken a small amount of pot. He declared that the country needs such kind of an approach that focuses on marijuana reduction instead of criminalization. "In January the Liberal delegates at the party congress voted in favor of legalizing marijuana.

The origin of this event named after its date of 420, the twentieth day of the fourth month, remains unclear. The event has spread across North America and worldwide.