Interview Martín Barriuso 2016 Part 3/3

Transcript interview with Martin Barriuso 2016 Part 3/3

At this point, what is your situation now, I mean, how are you going to manage it to keep on fighting? How would you explain this process to an average person?

Well, I think the process is more or less comprehensible. Right now we are sentenced by the Supreme Court, but we have raised what is called a motion for dismissal since we understand that this sentence has infringed several constitutional rights.

The Supreme Court has to decide now, it may take a few months and the sentence will be firm as soon as they endorse it, which will probably happen.

I don’t believe that, at this point, they’re going to recognise that they made a mistake and infringed our rights, it would surprise me.

That would be great!

It would be wonderful! We should congratulate them on it, but I don’t think that’ll happen.

From that point, we have a firm judgement and the execution should be decided by the same Court that judged us, but since we’ll appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court and, if necessary, to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, we may have the chance to ask for suspending the execution of the sentence and the fine, suspending the case.

If we are sentenced again after the appeal to the Constitutional Court, we could appeal for pardon – which we’d surely do – and then go to Strasbourg.

We are at this point right now we…we have to find money to pay our lawyer, you have to keep on paying lawyers, attorneys, etc.

That’s an important expense I believe, the amount…is difficult.

Yes, it is, but there are lots of people supporting us…and the true is…

How are you managing this support? Where do you find it? What is your work plan today?

Well, we are working on that, we are asking the industry for money, I mean, companies, foundations, organisations from the cannabis sector that could help…because we don’t want to ask for money until no more options are found.

Actually, we were talking about it before, I feel pretty much as if I had been hijacked by Al-Qaeda, you know? And they’d be asking for a ransom, you know? And a hooded person with a sharp knife was askinng for our money, right?

I strongly recommend our friends not to pay this ransom, we must try that they set us free, let’em know that we’ll break down the walls of this prison in which we are locked and that we won’t give this State our money since they don’t respect our rights, since they infringe their own constitutional principles and don’t offer legal certainty, and have treated us like shit, you know?

We’ve done this as according to the law as possible, we’ve gone to the institutions, we’ve been transparent, we payed our taxes only to get beaten because if we had been trafficking with drugs and had stashed the money somewhere, and the cannabis was hidden somewhere else, they would have found much less things against us and the sentence would have been lesser.

Then, it has been our confidence in the constitutional State, our decision of being transparent and clear about our activity, what has caused that we have been even more punished.

Thus, me must focus on getting the support from institutions, we believe the Basque Parliament will approve a motion supporting us and endorsing their regulation strategy, we are going to raise motions and proposals to regional Parliaments, regional Councils, town Councils, anywhere we can.

We are going to keep on fighting in the Spanish Parliament, since this situation has occurred because PP and PSOE have ruled the country taking turns for more than 30 years, they haven’t ended with legal uncertainty by reforming the Criminal Code.

If the Supreme Court has interpreted the Criminal Code in such way, it is precisely because our Criminal Code is terribly ambiguous, so it is up to the Parliament, because the politicians that we’ve had during all this democratic period have not done their job and have let it to the Supreme Court.

I think Spain is pioneer in this area, we have this responsible regulation which is unique in Europe, of such synchronicity
between organisations to transform and achieve a legal change.

Tell me about the manifest that you’ve released regarding all this.

Yes, we have released a manifest to collect adhesions, we are upgrading the website in which we’re collecting signatures to promote it… 

This manifest states that PANNAGH has performed an associative activity, that this fact has been proved during the trial, that we are a true association, a non-profit association of cannabis users, that our activity has been public and notorious, that we never hided.

We have always fought for regulation and the facts are there, we’ve been in the press, the court decisions are there, I mean, it is obvious that we’ve never hidden.

An also that you’re not alone, right? A sector of the population is increasingly realising about it and wants to participate, isn’t it? What could they do? Average people, who are not part of the cannabis sector, users, patients, how can they support activism?

Activism? Well, they should be members of any association,

now that they want to close them it is a good moment to become a member and support the people behind associations, otherwise those who stick up for associations, spokespersons and delegates,
will be beheaded one by one.

Then, in cases like this, if someone wants to hit some of your buddies, what you must do is stay together, unite, so they can’t beat us down.

So that it doesn’t seem the idea of a few, but something serious.

Do not go back home, do not quit. We have the right to do as we do, the use of cannabis or any other substance is something personal, and as long as we are not harming third parties no one should impose obstacles to our activity.

We must have the right to grow our own cannabis apart from the black market.

We can’t do it through professional and large associations because the Supreme Court does not allow us, well, let’s then rebuilt our associations, let’s create associations with 15, 20 or 30 members, people who know each other and share the tasks. Let’s avoid excessive professionalization, change the model, but we need to keep on growing, organizing together and fighting for what these people want to impede, that it has been a true social change regarding cannabis in Spain, with a political change on the way. Society has changed, perception of cannabis has changed, the way in which we deal with cannabis has changed.

It is increasingly accepted that, while the use of this plant brings risks, these are not worse than others with which we live.

Then, the best thing we can do now is refusing to be intimidated, do not let them scare us, we are winning the ideological battle, both at national and international level.

With this ballot, Uruguay positions itself as worldwide leader, the law on the sale and production of marijuana under State control had the majority in the Senate and was endorsed this past Tuesday, an initiative promoted by left-wing President José Mújica which goes beyond any other current legislation.

During the long debate, senators defended the project as a way to take away part of the market of the drug lords as part of the laws promoted by the left party since 2005.

The project also entails decriminalization of abortion, equal marriage, and many other subjects for which we have voted to advance in terms of… 

What would “Growing Happiness” mean to you? What would make your happiness to grow right now? 

Plenty of things, I’m a happy guy, despite all these things.

What has made me happy is the support we’ve had. When they sentenced us, you can imagine how scared we were, and when it was made public…people have really helped, the support that we’ve received really made me happy. 

I don’t know what will happen now, but I believe the worst is over and people have realised that things must change, we must move and things will change, I’ll be so happy when all this leads to a Law,
when they change the Criminal Code… I believe we are headed towards this, and we must not let them take away our happiness, what was truly clear to me, during the trial, before the sentence, me and my wife were partying and thinking that they could take our money, our house, whatever, but not the good mooth, the will to fight or our reasons, they can’t take that and the best thing we can do is keep on being happy and fighting for our thing, no matter what these bunch of embittered people we have as governors say.

Thanks a lot for your encouraging words, we are sure everything will be all right, and thanks for your courage, for defending so many unseen people.

Thank you for your support.

A pleasure!