GIANT JOINT TO GLOW AT MARDI GRAS

A 10-metre joint will join Nicole Kidman's fake nose and other iconic
cultural paraphernalia in Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras this weekend.

The Giant Joint will leave the small country town of Nimbin in far northern
NSW on Friday with a busload of Ganja Faeries for the colourful parade on
Saturday.

Medical Cannabis Information Service (MCIS) spokesman Andrew Kavasilas said
it would be the second time the Giant Joint would take part in the event.

"With the theme of medical cannabis, the float and its participants will
highlight the need for action by the NSW government to allow people to use
cannabis for medical purposes," Mr Kavasilas said.

"Use of cannabis in the gay community is high, with figures indicating one
in three HIV positive gay men smoking cannabis for medical purposes.

"The MCIS float will be there to inform and entertain, headed by the wacky
Ganja Faeries."

The Giant Joint will be in the parade with an enlarged version of Kidman's
prosthetic nose she used in her role as the emotionally-troubled author
Virginia Woolf in The Hours, and more than 140 other floats.

This year's parade will be led by an entry of three floats featuring youth
under 25 marching alongside participants in the first Mardi Gras parade in
1978.

Celebrating their 15th anniversary, 180 Dykes on Bikes will also be in this
year's parade.