While cannabis reformers met online to discuss all things hemp, a quiet, socially distanced MardiGrass protest took place on Nimbin’s main Street last weekend.

The virtual forum was a first for Nimbin’s MardiGrass, which took all the usual components of the annual cannabis law reform protest - like the HEMP Olympix joint rolling and pot poetry - and brought them into an online environment. 

Nimbin Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said the usual protest - which would normally have hundreds of people crowding the streets of Nimbin - was reduced to a few dedicated Nimbin locals. 

Social distancing

“Everyone was conscious of coronavirus social distancing,” Michael said. “We didn’t promote the rally because prohibition has created disrespect for good laws too.

“Aboriginal Elder Auntie Linda appeared and led the march in the traditional way and there was a dig player at front.

“It was one of the nicest marches in years - peaceful and with no crowds – and 1000 or more people watched it online.”

A scene from the MardiGrass protest in previous years...

Police

Other elements of the annual protest also still happened at a small scale, such as the interaction with the local police force.

“We walked to the Nimbin cop shop and when we got there, they weren’t there,” Michael said. “When we left, they drove up.

“The police were good this year. They came and saw the Hemp Embassy on Friday and left us to it.”

Hemp Embassy raid

Louise from the Hemp Embassy said the police raided the embassy last year just before MardiGrass got underway.

“Last year, they barged in and it was a bit traumatic at first, but it melted away,” Louise said.

“I work in the medicinal cannabis area and left our medicine alone and were only interested in green material lying around.

“When they pulled up people on the street and they had our medicine, they left it alone – the police were not interested in medicinal cannabis. It was a good clarifying moment.”

Luddite to Zoom room

Michael, a self-confessed luddite, said by the end of the virtual MardiGrass weekend, he knew a lot more about the Zoom platform and found it a great way to engage in in-depth talks with small audiences. 

“Some people logged into Discord and Zoom and we could talk as long as we liked,” he said. “It was good to watch everyone choofing at home – it was a lot of fun for people.”

“John Teh was a great speaker about medical cannabis and we had good information about hemp plastics on the Sunday.

Michael said numbers were not huge in the online forums, but some of the talks were recorded on Facebook and YouTube.

“But what happened in the Zoom room stays in the Zoom room,” he said.

Micheal said the HEMP Olympix was funny, with people sending in videos of entries and in the usual Kombi convoy, a solitary Kombi came through.

"Smoke at home"

“We only postponed MardiGrass, but by the sound of the government, it could be a long time before big gatherings can happen again,” he said.

“If we can go ahead in May next year, we will incorporate some virtual forums from now on – it could save money flying people from California to speak.

“We know people just want to smoke at home and with the road blocks and saliva testing, the crowd numbers have been reducing anyway. 

“It’s killed the crowd – so if we have it live online, they can it watch from anywhere.”

Read more: No police, no saliva tests at virtual MardiGrass this weekend