Budapest March Protests Against Cannabis Prohibition

Over the weekend, the internationally recognized cannabis holiday 4/20 took place worldwide, with events, gatherings, and demonstrations occurring in several jurisdictions. One such gathering was held in Budapest, Hungary, where cannabis advocates protested the nation’s cannabis prohibition policies.

“The event was held by Hungarian political party ‘Two-Tailed Dog’, with participants pointing out that alcohol has a far more serious negative effect and causes greater social harm than marijuana, the consumption of which is criminalised.” reported EuroNews in its coverage.

“At the Million Marijuana March event, MKKP co-chair Zsuzsanna Döme argued that alcohol and designer drugs cause much greater social harm, yet the government criminalises the usage of marijuana by young people.” the outlet also reported.

Whereas numerous European nations have modernized their cannabis policies to permit safe access to medical cannabis, and in some cases recreational cannabis, Hungary has seemingly trended in the opposite direction.

Currently, most European countries have operational medical cannabis programs. Cannabis is legal for adult use in Malta, Luxembourg, and Germany, and regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials are operating in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

“A demonstration for legalising marijuana held on Easter Sunday “is a shameless provocation”, László Horváth, the government commissioner for eliminating drug dealing, has said, vowing that the protest would be “the last” of its kind.” reported Daily News Hungary about Sunday’s protest.