MAY DAY J-DAY IN AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND
Saturday 1st May 1999, Albert Park, Auckland.
Report by Chris Fowlie from NORML NZ
The day got off to an excellent start: the heavy rainfall that had been predicted to get worse during the day cleared by mid morning, and the sky stayed fine until just as J-Day ended, when it started to rain again! Very shortly after the appointed start time, high noon, two beat cops strolled into the park. They walked right past a groups having a smoke, but when they passed them again one of the group thought he'd be a smart arse and offered one of the cops a joint. He was the only arrest of the day. The officer remarked to me something along the lines of "you can do it behind my back, but not to my face. He crossed the line, and the law's the law" etc. He was processed and released by 3pm and came straight back to join us again.
Around 2000 people turned out to Albert Park in central Auckland over the course of the day. It was a very laid-back relaxed affair, with most people happy to chill out in groups all over the park, play hacky-sac or just smoke pot. Many long time activists described it as the best atmosphere at any J-Day we've organised.
We had stalls from the organisers (NORML), the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, the Green Party (who launched their new Cannabis Law Reform policy), and the Libertarianz Party (who were campaigning for comprehensive drug law reform, including a 'Legalise Heroin Now' sign).
There were lots of media present, including the NZ Herald, TV3 news, several student crews, and documentary maker Communicado, who are putting together a 1-hour programme on cannabis to air on TV1 later this year. 
Unfortunately for some of the media, they seemed to be looking for crowds of young pot heads with nose piercings and tattoos to film smoking pot and going 'yeah get stoned!' and they couldn't find any. Everyone looked perfectly normal, and I could sense their disappointment.
Musical performances included a DJ set from Yardboy of the Downbeat Sound System, Dubhead & Tuffy Culture doin' it ragga style, Foghorn (a new acid-jazz outfit), King Kapisi (wicked hip hop and scratching), and The Managers (ska outfit who were shot at earlier that morning when they played at an anti duck hunting protest!!).
In between bands there were speeches from activists, some of which will appear on-line soon. Chris Fowlie of NORML welcomed all to the gathering and explained why we're doing it, Les Gray (President of the ALCP) and Michael Appleby (leader of the ALCP) talked about the past, present and future of marijuana law reform and the importance of voting this year, Nandor Tanczos of the Green Party talked about their new drug policy and the need to tie drug law reform into a wider reform of the justice system, and finally Mike Finlayson from NORML stirred up the crown with a call for direct action.
This was the cue they had been waiting for, and several hundred of us left at this stage (it was almost 5pm by now) grabbed placards and marched off to the central police station. We chanted at the building as bewildered cops peered out from high up windows and the front desk staff locked the doors. A symbolic cannabis stalk - from a monster plant by the look of it - was laid at their doorstep.
We then went back to Queen St, Auckland's main drag, for a public show of civil disobedience. We sessioned up large. By now the rain had started so we found a sheltered spot outside the main picture theater and lit up lots of big joints. A thick cloud hung over us, many cars tooted their horns, and a small crowd of onlookers gathered. There were no cops to be seen, and everyone there felt very empowered by their action. We did it, got away with it, and we'll do it again!
Later that night, some of us re-gathered at the same picture theatre for a marijuana movie that happened to be playing that night, called Amazing Love Secret. It turned out to be a thinly-veiled excuse for soft porn ("my sex problems are cured now that I smoke marihuana") with the odd bit of
hemp information thrown in. Since that's really not our thing (honest!) we sparked up a large doobie in the theatre, filling the place with its scent, while the smoke could be seen in the projector beam. Needless to say, the management were not happy and they sent their biggest guy to throw us out. Obviously just used to lolly-throwing school kids, he got angry when we discussed it amongst ourselves whether or not to leave. We did leave peacefully, and went on to the unofficial after party, a warehouse dance party that went til about 8am. Cheers!
Rest of the World
Worldwide J-Day was a big sucess but did not attract the hoped for aim of one million people marching for an end to cannabis prohibition. In many of the 30 cities worldwide, only a few thousand turned up, and some cities did not have marches. But it gives us a base to build on. Lets make it a million in 2000!.
There were protest events in: Auckland (NZ); Melbourne (Australia); Johannesburg and Cape Town (S. Africa); Prague (Czech Republic); Amsterdam (Holland); London, Edinburgh and Glasgow (UK); New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Seattle, Cleveland, Austin, Albuquerque, Madison, Minneapolis, and Tampa (USA); Montreal and Vancouver (Canada) and Hilo (Hawaii). Awaiting confirmation are cities in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Belgium. More details may be found on the official website for the worldwide events or check out these UK and US sites.
