Lingkar Ganja Nusantara (LGN) is taking action to raise awareness about the benefits of the marijuana plant through their campaign #MembacaAlam (reading nature).
LGN is a community that advocates and educates about the benefits of marijuana, which have been campaigning for its decriminalization for the past six years. The #MembacaAlam campaign was inspired by LGN’s endeavours to legalize cannabis despite controversies surrounding the matter. In Indonesia, all parts of the marijuana plant are considered a drug and illegal, and one can receive up to four years’ imprisonment for possession of the plant.
Head of LGN Dhira Narayana said in a statement that the organization plans to win back the public’s trust by ensuring that marijuana plants will be properly used and socialized. “What we need to do now is prove that we are capable of looking after marijuana plants. But since this is still illegal, let’s prove that we can care for the nature around us. If we can achieve this, then hopefully we will be able to look after and manage marijuana in the future.”
Working together with volunteer organization Komunitas Transformasi Hijau (Trashi), LGN aims to educate Indonesians about understanding nature, as well as their responsibility to care for it. Through #MembacaAlam activities, Trashi has managed to map out the spread of wild species (birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians) in Beton forest, Jakarta.
The campaign will be taking place on Global Marijuana March today, on Saturday May 7, where advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana from more than 100 countries will be marching to show their concern.
In Indonesia, the event will take place in six cities, including Padang, Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Surabaya, Gresik and Makassar. While Global Marijuana March activities in other countries will include burning marijuana, in Indonesia they will include tree-planting and a clean-up to mark 40 years since marijuana was criminalized in the country.
For more information, please visit Lingkar Ganja Indonesia’s Facebook page.