Nearly two months removed from what will surely stand as a seminal moment in the history of the medical cannabis in Canada movement, CinC takes a look back at the events of Cannabis Day in Vancouver. What should have been, as it had for two decades, a celebration of a community’s achievements, peaceful methods, and Vancouver’s progress in leading a national conversation on our plant turned into an ugly scene, which highlighted the lingering stigma unfairly attached to cannabis by conservative agendas.
For those unfamiliar with the story, on July 1st a decades old gathering of the cannabis movement at the Vancouver Art Gallery devolved into a violent confrontation with the Vancouver Police Department. Several arrests were made, and CinC was there to capture it all.
In this retrospective, you’ll find CinC Founding Director Jason Wilcox peacefully confronting the VPD, whose presence was heavy and adversarial. Throughout the video, the calm, peaceful, and celebratory tone of the community is offset by the foreboding and aggressive VPD. Despite Wilcox’s plea for the officers to reset to the perimeter, they breach the line and push the protest to violence.
Wilcox talks to numerous community members from the front lines, such as Mik Mann and Jeremiah Vandermeer from Pot.TV; Neil Magnuson, who was one of the day’s arrestees; Rej and Jay from the Budzilla dispensary; R. v. Smith plaintiff Owen Smith; and renowned activist Ted Smith, who described the events as the “saddest day in cannabis activism” in Canada’s history.
For more CinC writings on Cannabis Day go here.