By Alan Healy
A Derry-based group which campaigns for the legalisation of marijuana have started a new funding initiative to help people prosecuted for using the drug.
The LegenDerry Cannabis Club said that the funds will be used to help members pay fines imposed on them by the courts for using cannabis, and their legal fees.
Cannabis is currently classed as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the maximum penalty for possessing the drug can be five years’ imprisonment, a heavy fine, or both.
However, LegenDerry Cannabis Club, has said that it will ‘no longer suffer the monetary penalties forced upon members’, and intend to ‘take a stand’ against the imposition of such fines.
Earlier this year, the club staged a demonstration in Guildhall Square which was attended by around 200 people.
A number of those involved in the protest openly smoked marijuana during the event, which resulted in police moving in and removing one young man.
A 15-year-old boy was then arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class B controlled drug and a 17-year-old male was also spoken to by police and taken home
In a letter issued to the Derry News, a spokesperson for the club said that it also hosted a number of private ‘smoke-ins’ and planned to stage similar events next year.
“We've successfully hosted a number of private events (smoke-ins) in the city,” the spokesperson said.
“We have successfully taken the criminal element out of cannabis within the club and we work on a non-profit basis with any proceeds going back into club and community.”
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