Over 100 cannabis activists took to the streets of Johannesburg on Saturday to participate in the Global Cannabis March, an annual rally held around the world on the first Saturday in May. Similar rallies were held in Durban and Cape Town.
"The police will escort us as we smoke weed in the streets openly. We've come a long way," said Nkosana Doncabe, a young protester. He was sharing a joint with his friend."In South Africa we have witnessed a remarkable journey towards cannabis liberation," said Candice Nel, one of the protest conveners."However, the proposed cannabis bill threatens to undermine this progress.
Longtime cannabis activist Myrtle Clarke was at the protest. In a statement she recently released, she said:"Fields of Green for All supports the signing into law of the imperfect Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill because this means that cannabis will be taken out of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act of 1992, with all sorts of happy knock-on consequences."