The Cannabis Culture Awards 2012 were awarded in both Amsterdam and Barcelona. During a festive and moving ceremony in Amsterdam, two former statesmen, Mr. Thorvald Stoltenberg and Mr. Dries van Agt, expressed their hope for a future without cannabis prohibition. ‘Hope is almost as important as life itself’, said Stoltenberg, after accepting the Cannabis Culture Award on behalf of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. In Barcelona, winner Sir Richard Branson stated that legal cannabis could solve Spain’s economic crisis.
On 9 May 2012 the Cannabis Culture Awards 2012 were presented during a festive ceremony in the beautifully restored Palau Mornau in Barcelona, home of the Hash Marihuana Cáñamo & Hemp Museum Barcelona, which opened its doors a few days later. The ceremony was inaugurated by anthropologist Josep Maria Fericgla, and presented by Ms Esther Gimeno.
The awards were conferred to Sir Richard Branson on behalf of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Spanish activist Fernanda de la Figuera and Todd McCormick, American author and photographer. The ceremony included speakers such as Richard Cowan, former national director of NORML (National Organization for the Reform on Marijuana Laws).
During the ceremony, a video was projected of one of the Amsterdam winners: Dr Lester Grinspoon (Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School) who was unable to attend in person because of health issues. In addition to a cash prize of three thousand euros, each winner also received a special photo collage which was unveiled during the event.
