People at Melbourne's 420 Picnic Explain Their Love of Weed

Note: this year's 4/20 stoner picnic happens in the afternoon and we haven't made it down there yet. So until we do, enjoy this article from 2017

The best thing about April 20 is that it unites a variety of personalities and cultures. Nowhere is this more evident than at Melbourne's Flagstaff Gardens, which were extremely hazy yesterday as a crowd of about 1000 descended to peacefully protest marijuana's illegality by lighting up.

420 was once a counter-cultural "fuck you" to the establishment, but it's smarter and more political now, especially in Australia—where growing acceptance of medicinal cannabis has put legal recreational weed on the national agenda. My experience of weed has always been a private and indoor affair, so I was interested to find out why a mass of people from all over the city were openly smoking in a park while nervous police looked on.

Here are some of the many stoners that I met, and their stories.

VICE: Tell me about the first time you guys got high.
Orson: I remember the first time I had a bong. I don't really remember the first time I smoked weed because it didn't really affect me. But I remember the first time I had a bong it got me. I was at my mates cousin's house and we ducked out of this lame party that our parents forced us to go to, and we just went to our friend's house who wasn't super into it but she had a bong and was like whatever. So we did it and I coughed my lungs out. Couldn't stop laughing and puffing.
Ossian: I didn't smoke weed until Year 12, like just before the exam period. You know how school ends and you have that break before exams. Anyway, I wasn't inhaling it properly so it wasn't doing too much damage. But then someone gave me a bong and I was like wow, so that's what weed is. That was fun but we've just been smoking joints since. We like joints, they're way more chilled.

What would your parents say if they knew you were here?
Ossian: My dad asks me for bud sometimes. He is like, on and off.

What's your favourite thing to do when you're stoned?
Orson: Eat food and listen to music. We were listening to the soundtrack for the arcade game Daytona. It's like a drum and bass track. It's pretty rowdy, ill put it on.

What do you like about weed?
Orson: As an all-rounder, weed is the best. It's good for any scenario. Like, being pissed isn't great for every scenario.

True.

VICE: What brought you guys out here today?
[Everyone just stares at me for a minute]

That was a pretty cooked question. Tell me about when you feel in love with weed.
Drew: First time I smoked weed was under a bridge when I was like 13. It was on the Gold Coast. We made a bong out of a Gatorade bottle and a pen. Managed to get pretty high and went to the movies. It was pretty sweet.
Ronnie: Fuck, I was late. I was at Soundwave. Smoking a joint while watching bands really high.
Annie May: Some chick came up to me at a party and said that I had to be either really drunk or really stoned in her presence, so she rolled me a joint.

What do y'all make of the police presence here today?
Drew: They took a guy away who had a bit of weed on his lap. It was quite a bit and it looked like he was dealing so yeah. He definitely had more than personal, and the entire group dispersed as soon as he got busted.
Ronnie: He had like a fortnight's worth on his lap.

VICE: Hey man, what's up with the Gumby costume?
I'm here promoting a mate's brand. S.A.F.E (Stoned As Fuck Everyday). Just love getting involved with the community and that. We've got dab tents and give out free dabs.

How would you describe the merits of weed to people who have never smoked?
It's not all about smoking weed, it's also about getting our cannabinoid levels back up. If you don't like smoking, that's fine, but maybe get onto some edibles and get a little bit of cannabis into you somehow.

What would your parents say if they knew you were here?
To be honest, my brother's a policeman. My mum and dad don't smoke drink or swear. But they're not going to sit there and tell me how to live my life. They probably don't agree as much, I suppose now that medicals have come out, people are a lot more understanding.

Stay true to yourself.

VICE: What did you think of weed before you smoked?
Dean: I always thought weed was going to make me really dumb. But actually I find it opens my mind to other things. I can work better. I can do a lot of things better.

What would your parents say if they knew you were out here?
They wouldn't like that I'm doing it in public. But they wouldn't mind that I'm actually smoking. Because it's such a peaceful time. It's just awesome. It just chills you the fuck out.

VICE: What card game are you playing?
Raf: This game is called weed. I was always too stoned by the time me and my sister would try and play. We never figured it out. So there's weed cards and the aim of the game is to grow a crop of five weed cards. Potzilla's the bad guy, you don't want to draw it because it wipes your whole crop.

Interesting. Tell me about the first time you got high.
Tess: I got stung by a bee.
Jasmine: I would've been like 16. We were on our favourite hill in Eltham. It was the same time for all of us. We were in a big group. Some of the boys got weed and Harry rolled us a joint. So we smoked on a hill.
Tess: It was like the third or fourth time that we got really high. And were like, "Oh my god." It's like entering another world. Not like that anymore, but definitely at the time.

VICE: John, what's up with all these policeman?
Truth of the situation is they've made people feel like criminals because of ignorant people's paranoia. The ignorant ones that choose not to adapt. We've been advised that if you do the obvious, well obviously we're going to have to do something about it.. People were advised not to bring weed and if they smoke here they are breaking the law and it's as simple as that.

So why are you here?
You can choose to sacrifice, and that's what real protest is. And I'm one of those old schoolers. You don't want to hear my surname, but translated it means "war". If the next generation are looking for something to care about, why not care about something that will help everybody.

VICE: What brings you guys out here today?
Ryan: The culture, man. The weed.

When did you lose your weed plates?
Mason: I was like 12, at my Year Six graduation. And my friend's dad smoked a lot of weed. He was from overseas and thought it was like a cultural thing to offer up. So when I was 12 he offered me my first bong. I went to Year Six graduation and greened out in my Mums arms.

Did you vom?
Mason: Yeah, a little bit. Wasn't a good time when I got home.
Ryan: First time I smoked weed? My brother came home blind drunk from a party with all his friends and dragged me into his room and shoved this bong shaped like Scooby Doo in front of my face. Laughed myself stupid. Ate myself stupid. And slept myself stupid.

What would your parents say if they knew you were here?
Ryan: I think my parents would be happy that I'm in a safe environment that wasn't going to be violent or aggressive. Just sitting in a park and having a good time.

What do you make of the police presence?
Ryan: It's fucking bullshit. It's absolute fucking trash.

VICE: How did you end up here Ray? You look lost.
[A minute passes while Ray uses his index finger to navigate Google Maps]
So, I was out for a lunchtime stroll. I thought, "What's that smell?", so I wandered in its direction and now I'm here. But I actually support it. I reckon the laws surrounding marijuana are bullshit in this country.

Have you ever smoked?
I smoked marijuana for the first time when I was about 40. That was the very first time. Let me tell you, I'd been married for a long time. Very straight and narrow. I had a major life event. Left my job. Got kicked out of home by my wife and I thought, new beginnings. And I just happened to bump into people that were into it and I thought, "Hey why not? I'll give it a go."

Sounds intense.
It was interesting because the very first time I tried drugs, we had a bong, I sniffed some speed and also had an ecstasy tablet. I was bouncing off the walls. As far as marijuana goes I've smoked it a few times since but not for the past five years I'd say.

All photos by Ashley Goodall

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