Pubdate: Thu, 26 Sep 2013
Source: Timaru Herald (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2013 Timaru Herald
Contact:  http://www.timaruherald.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1039

CANNABIS LOBBY OPEN MUSEUM

Dunedin is a little closer to becoming the Amsterdam of the South 
Pacific as Whakamana: the Cannabis Museum of Aotearoa counts down to 
its opening.

A joint venture by the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party and Otago 
cannabis lobby group Otago Norml, the museum will be officially 
opened on Sunday, October 6, under the directorship of long-time 
Otago cannabis lobbyist Abe Gray.

"All the local journalists and politicians will be invited, plus a 
few celebrity musicians. The general public are also invited," Mr 
Gray said. The opening would kick off Cannabis Awareness Week taking 
place online and at venues around Dunedin, he said.

The inaugural exhibit will highlight the history of cannabis law 
reform activism at the University of Otago, dating back to the 1970s.

"People in the community have been overwhelmingly supportive," Mr Gray said.

The museum will have displays and information designed to educate 
visitors on aspects of cannabis use and the procannabis lobby.

Some merchandise, such as T-shirts, will be sold to raise funds for 
the campaign.

Those behind the museum hope it will strengthen their campaign to 
legalise cannabis.

"We've had this concept of Dunsterdam, the Amsterdam of the South 
Pacific," Julian Crawford, of Legalise Cannabis, said last month.

Amsterdam, which has legalised the sale of cannabis to adults, was 
doing well out of the resulting trade, he said. "It actually gets 
quite a few tourists buying cannabis and contributing to the local economy."

If New Zealand legalised cannabis, it was hoped the Government would 
follow the Dutch model, he said.

Fairfax NZ
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom