WORLD TUNES IN TO STREET PARTY OF THE YEAR

Thousands are heading for tomorrow's march to back the decriminalisation of
cannabis.

It is going to be the best street party London has enjoyed for years.
Thousands of supporters of The Independent on Sunday's campaign to
decriminalise cannabis are heading for tomorrow's march through the capital
in carnival mood.

And despite the underlying seriousness of the issue, campaigners plan to
turn the march, from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, into more of a
celebration than a demonstration.

Sarah Russell, a mature student from Leeds, is one of hundreds who rang our
special march information line: "We have organised our own coach and are
hoping like mad that the weather is going to hold up because we are
determined to have a great time. It will be just like one big party to be
with so many like-minded campaigners ... saying it loud and proud."

Yesterday columnist Charles Glass, writing in the Evening Standard, urged
Londoners to support the march. "I call on everyone who came out for the
countryside to return to the streets in the same cause: freedom. From
Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square, thousands of men, women and children will
parade to show the Government that those who smoke marijuana should not be
sent to prison for it. Smokers are not a criminal minority, they are just
ordinary people," he wrote.

However, unlike the Countryside Rally supporters, some of the cannabis
marchers might look more than a little bleary eyed. "A large number of
flyers have been distributed around the London club scene and quite a
number of enthusiasts have said they will go straight to Hyde Park from
their all-night parties," said a volunteer worker for Release, the drugs
charity.

Labour MP Paul Flynn who is trying to get cross-party support for drug-law
reform believes the march is already a success. "Notwithstanding an
earthquake or flood this march has already achieved a great deal," said Mr
Flynn who will speak at the Trafalgar Square rally. "The extraordinary
level of media interest that has already been created by this march means
that every household in Britain will have the opportunity of discussing the
subject of cannabis and the law this weekend. As things stand, the three
major parties are conspiring to stifle debate on this subject. There is one
simple message to get across and that is decriminalisation works,
prohibition does not work."

Supporters are not just rallying in Britain. This week news of the
Independent on Sunday march went international, creating a buzz of home and
overseas media activity. Canadian television is in London to cover the
march and an Italian radio station is going to transmit coverage of the
whole of tomorrow's event live. There are even plans to broadcast the march
on the Internet. Preliminary television interviews with some of the
speakers have already been syndicated internationally, and Australian radio
and the BBC World Service have also featured the march in their news coverage.

"The message seems to have got out into the wider world this week. We have
had dozens of calls from Europe. One group of individuals from Paris rang
to ask which was the nearest tube for Hyde Park as they were coming over on
Eurostar for the day," said Chris Brown who has been working on the march
information phone line this week.

Other groups are expected from Holland, Belgium and France. A strong
delegation is expected from Rome to support Marco Pannella the founder of
the Italian Radical Party and veteran campaigner for drug-law reform. After
the march Mr Pannella is planning his own press conference.

Others will be going to the special after-march party organised by
Hempology at the Cloud Nine club in London SE1. Doors open at 10 pm and
will feature a guest appearance of Trafalgar Square speaker Howard Marks
who is to DJ into the early hours.

CAMPAIGN WHO'S WHO

The campaign to decriminalise cannabis has won backing from some of
Britain's liveliest minds. Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop ethical
cosmetics chain, spoke movingly at the seminar on decriminalisation
organised by The Independent on Sunday last December.

Recently, she announced her chain of shops would introduce a range of
beauty products based on hemp-seed extracts - drawing the wrath of former
Tory Home Office Minister Anne Widdecombe.

Richard Branson, the entrepreneur businessman, has lent his name and
backing to the campaign. Sir Paul McCartney, while supportive, has
preferred to play a low-profile role in the campaign.

The visual arts have been represented by film directors Mike Leigh and
Peter Greenaway. Fay Weldon, A N Wilson and Nick Hornby are among a host of
leading writers to back the campaign. Prominent medical supporters include
Dr Philip Robson, consultant psychiatrist at the Warneford Hospital, and
Professor Steven Rose, director of the Brain and Behaviour Research Group
at the Open University.