British band Will and the People will headline Cannabis Liberation Day, the largest cannabis and hemp event in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam’s Flevopark on June 12. Among the speakers this year: Frans van Laarhoven, brother of coffeeshop pioneer Johan van Laarhoven who is imprisoned in Thailand and Has Cornelissen, founder of the Legalize! foundation.
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Cannabis Liberation Day is a free protestival, organized by the Union for the abolition of cannabis prohibition (VOC) since 2009. In addition to the stage program with artists, speakers and DJs from home and abroad there is a big Hemp Market, a Cannabis Film Festival in Europe’s biggest ger (Mongolian nomadic tent), a reggae and dub area with sound systems, a Vape Lounge and a mouth watering food and drinks area. Alcohol is not sold at the event. Use of cannabis by adults is legal in the Netherlands. Dutch Member of Parliament Vera Bergkamp (D66) called Cannabis Liberation Day “the most relaxed festival I have ever visited”.
‘For us, a joint is like a cup of tea’, says singer Will Rendle, ‘it’s part of our lifestyle’.
Will and the People scored the biggest Dutch summer hit of 2012 with their debut single ‘A Lion in the morning sun’ and played the main stage at the Pinkpop festival in 2013. The four Britons are true cannabis lovers. ‘For us, a joint is like a cup of tea’, says singer Will Rendle, ‘it’s part of our lifestyle’. Hailing from Antwerp are De Rupelsoldaten who mix dancehall beats with Flemish rap. There’s an Armand Tribute to commemorate the protest singer who deceased last year and performances by Van Piekeren, Dramali and Iris Penning.
The Hemp Market consists of over fifty stalls where cannabis and hemp related businesses and organizations present themselves and sell their -legal- products.
The Hemp Market consists of over fifty stalls where cannabis and hemp related businesses and organizations present themselves and sell their -legal- products. Since the departure of the High Times Cannabis Cup from the Netherlands, Cannabis Liberation Day is the only Dutch event that centers around the plant. Visitors can see and buy the latest innovations, from vaporizers and hemp plastic to all sorts of products with CBD (cannabidiol), the non-psychoactive, medicinally active ‘sister’ of THC. The movie tent is the place to for documentaries and live debates.
Joep Oomen, one of the VOC’s founders, who unexpectedly died in March, was to speak at this year’s Cannabis Liberation Day. Together with Trekt Uw Plant, the first Cannabis Social Club of Belgium, we’ll pay tribute to this extraordinary man and activist. Confirmed speakers: Frans van Laarhoven, brother of Johan van Laarhoven, founder of The Grass Company coffeeshops who is detained in Thailand, Has Cornelissen, founder of the Legalize! foundation and Nol van Schaik, coffeeshop pioneer and cannabis activist from Haarlem. The union of coffeeshops, PCN, will present their Koos Zwart Award to a person who has made an exceptional contribution to the normalization of cannabis. And of course we will commemorate forty years of tolerance policy, with a large video screen, music and a very special guest.
Cannabis Liberation Day, 8th Edition
Sunday, June 12, 2pm-10pm, Flevopark, Amsterdam
Free admission, info: cannabisliberationday.org/en/
Facebook event: Cannabis Liberation Day 2016
More information about artists and speakers.
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