14 Marijuana March activists detained in Moscow

Moscow, May 5 (UNI) The Moscow police today arrested 14 people attempting to hold a cannabis culture parade in the city centre.

'' The detainees attempted to stage an unauthorised event and were promoting narcotics,'' a spokesperson for Moscow's Interior Department told RIA Novosti news agency.

Russian Interior Ministry's chief communications officer, Valery Gribankin said police had definite information that participants would use the rally to peddle drugs to members of the public.

Moscow's security chief Nikolai Kulikov said the municipal government had rejected a request to allow ''legalise marijuana'' parades in the city saying that such rallies would be unauthorised.

The parades had been intended to be carried out as part of the Global Marijuana March, held every May since 1999 in more than 400 cities across the world.

In the last few years, attempts have been made to stage events promoting cannabis culture made in Moscow, but all such actions were banned by the city authorities.

UNI