With attendees like Cynthia Nixon -- of "Sex and the City" fame and a Democratic challenger to Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- the annual Cannabis Parade took place in Manhattan's Union Square on Saturday.
While Nixon has been vocal about her desire to legalize marijuana, there were 300 others who took part in the event.
Marchers held signs with slogans, like "pot power," and chanted sayings, such as "legalize don't demonize."
It took nearly five decades, but the New York Cannabis Parade has finally gone mainstream. “We have an unprecedented lineup of elected officials this year,” says co-organizer Noah Potter, an attorney specializing in drug policy. “We’ve never had anything comparable.”
The “very bold and forward-thinking” City Councilman Rafael Espinal was the first elected official to participate in the march, and that was just in 2015. In 2018, there are seven politicians taking part; New York governor hopeful Cynthia Nixon has also come out in support for legalization.
The 2018 NYC Cannabis Parade & Rally unfolds in New York City Saturday, according to Metro New York, the same day as the Cinco de Mayo holiday.
Cynthia Nixon was high on legalizing weed but didn’t inhale as her fellow demonstrators openly toked during an annual pot parade in Manhattan Saturday.
“Arresting people for cannabis — particularly people of color — is the crown jewel for the racist war on drugs and we must pluck it down,” Nixon said at the NYC Cannabis Parade and Rally across from the Union Square Whole Foods.