Estonian town turns over a new leaf — cannabis
SIOBHÁN O’GRADY When Estonia’s Kanepi municipality was formed by three existing districts last year, some details had yet to be hammered out — among them, a design for its flag, logo and coat of arms.
So Kanepi opened itself up to suggestions, asking artists to submit some possibilities.
Out of the 23 ideas it received, a panel selected seven and put the question to an online poll. Less than 5,000 people live in Kanepi, but the design featuring a cannabis leaf won by a landslide 12,000 votes.
Recently, its council ratified the online decision in a narrow vote, officially adopting the leaf as the centrepiece for its new flag.
“Today, the cannabis leaf is seen primarily as a recreational drug, but in fact, hemp-type cannabis has been used in practical ways for years and it has hundreds of uses,” said Andrus Seeme, Kanepi’s mayor.
Residents of Kanepi would know. The name of their town is derived from the Estonian word for hemp, a plant in the cannabis family that is typically grown for its fibre and seeds.
Unlike marijuana, hemp has very low levels of THC, and thus, no mind-altering side effects.
Its fibres are often used for making rope; in Estonia, it is not an uncommon to find it in a garden. In the region, it has his- torically been used to make hemp butter, oil and other oldfashioned local foodstuffs.
It is illegal to sell marijuana in Estonia, although possession of small amounts is only a misdemeanour.
Kristel Abel doesn’t live in Kanepi, but she has driven through several times on her way to visit family. So when the vote was opened to the public, she said “it was an opportunity you cannot miss.” She voted in favour of what she called “the obvious, winning choice,” even if it was “probably not very adult behaviour.”
“I thought that the reaction of the mayor was great,” she told The Washington Post. “He accepted the public vote (and) said that even though more people voted than there are people in Kanepi, they must care for the place.”
Abel said that in Estonia, they use “kanep” to mean both industrial hemp and marijuana. But regardless of which one the flag is supposed to represent, not everyone was thrilled with the outcome.
“I must say that I am not for the fact that we will be marching under this kind of flag,” council member Arno Kakk, who voted against the flag, told Reuters.