New Zealand: Smoke-free Cannabis Protest Planned

Source from:  Otago Daily Times (nz)  03/26/2013

Protesters campaigning for the legalisation of cannabis will ''respect'' the University of Otago's planned campus-wide smoking ban next year, but will continue consuming cannabis by using inhalers rather than smoking the drug.

University tutor Abe Gray, a member of Norml, an Otago University Students' Association club, said protesters had been holding twice-weekly cannabis smoking sessions on campus for about nine years, to highlight concerns about laws.

The University Council recently endorsed a recommendation from vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne for the university's Dunedin campus to become fully smokefree on January 1 next year.

The university is providing extensive support to help cigarette smokers who decide to quit before the ban comes into effect next year. University regulations already ban anyone from smoking within 6m of any university building, and the university's other campuses, in Invercargill, Christchurch and Wellington, have already been declared smoke-free.

The cannabis protests had expanded to three a week this year. Mr Gray said cannabis would continue to be consumed on campus, but protesters would use fully enclosed vaporisers which enabled users to inhale vapour from heated cannabis powder, instead of smoking it.

Protesters wanted to be ''positive members of the university community'' and were ''offering an olive branch to the university'' over the smoke-free policy.

Protesters had already made arrangements to fully comply with the smoke-free rules when they came into effect.

They expected their rights to protest over cannabis-related issues would also be protected, Mr Gray said. Enditem