Description of Protesters and Police

The Protest Simulation contains pro-marijuana protesters, anti-marijuana protesters, and police officers.

To use the simulation, please read the directions.

PRO-MARIJUANA PROTESTERS
These protesters are there to stand out for what they believe in. They believe that Marijuana should be legalized for a couple different reasons. They feel that Marijuana could be used for medical use with patients with glaucoma, epilepsy, muscle spasms, arthritis, etc.. Another reason these protester are in favor of Marijuana because the plant that Marijuana comes from, the Cannabis Sativa plant is also where hemp comes from. Hemp can be used in a lot of good ways too, hemp clothing is easier to produce and lasts longer then cotton, and there is also hemp paper. The people who think marijuana should be legal feel that they have a right to be there. And are willing to take the consequences for their actions. In this crowd there are peaceful protesters but like in any crowd there are also some violent ones. Overall everyone is trying to have a peaceful protest. Some of the protesters from both sides hold signs that support what they believe. In examples of other protests there were people who felt that they could be almost completely peaceful and still emphasize their opinions. However, even with the majority of peaceful protesters there still are some who feel the need to be violent. In some cases people were violent because someone was being violent toward them either that or they wanted to provoke a situation.

ANTI-MARIJUANA PROTESTERS
These people feel that they also have the right to voice their opinions. They feel that the use of Cannabis Sativa/Marijuana should not be legal at all. They also think that Marijuana is a gateway drug and people that use Marijuana will go onto using different drugs or be more likely to try new drugs. Many of these protesters act out in violent manners by throwing rocks and heckling. Not only do they throw rocks at other protesters, but they also throw rocks at the police officers. They, for the most part, are not trying to hold a peaceful protest. These people feel very strongly about not legalizing Marijuana and don’t really want to know about the other side of the spectrum they feel that the only way that there opinion can be heard is by being violent. These protesters also hold signs that state their opinion.
In examples of other protests there were many cases where people got very out of hand for a number of reasons. One reason was because they had very strong opinions and felt the need to voice them. Another reason is because their anger led to violence.

POLICE OFFICERS (neutral)
The police officers hold the a lot of responsibility in this protest. They have the obligation to keep things under control. If things get out of hand they need to know how to react quickly and responsibly. They are putting their lives on the line to be there because you never know what can happen. They have to expect the unexpected and keep on their toes. They also have the responsibility to not let their own opinions get involved in the protest that they are involved in. For example, at other protests there were many police officers that had their own opinions on race, the Vietnam war, or whatnot. Because of that there were countless numbers of cases where the police acted on what they believed in rather then staying neutral and acted violently without even being provoked. Acts like that done by the police is very illegal because they represent society and are there to protect the constitutional rights of the demonstrators . The police may have been getting uncomfortable with the number of people that were surrounding them, or possibly they chose to be discriminatory and possibly reveal in their own way how they feel. They certainly had the authority and power to do whatever they wanted even though in many cases they were out numbered.