Whats up ya'll, it's me Mike. Today, I'm starting up a new series called Flag Friday.

Every Friday I'll explain the history behind what ever flag I choose. You can give me recommendations down below but I know you won't.

Today our flag takes place in the small municipality of Kanepi, Estonia.



Yes, before you say anything, that is a cannabis/weed flag. I'll explain.

In early 2018, the Kanepi local government held a vote online to determine Kanepi's flag and coat of arms. This was because the small village that preceded it became a principality through unions of villages. Naturally people got excited about voting on the new flag. A designer named Tonu Kukk recognized that "Kanep" in Estonian literally translates to Hemp, which is a strain of cannabis. Hemp has been used for years in this small town for industrial purposes, hence giving the town its name "Kanepi."



The flag voting was off, and more people voted on the online flag vote than there were people in municipality. With only 5,000 residents, 15,000 people voted and 12000 voted overwhelmingly for the Cannabis flag shown above and the coat of arms shown below.



The government was so baffled by the results that they held a vote between the government over whether to pick this flag. Government officials in support of the flag praised the voting for it's swift and great democratic process. Officials against the flag argued that more people voted on the flag than there were citizens in the municipality. Arno Kakk said to reporters that day “I must say that I am not for the fact that we will be marching under this kind of a flag." However, when voting came around in March 2018, 9 officials over 8 decided to keep the flag and was officially raised.



It's also important to note that marijuana and drug use are illegal in Kanepi and are a punishable misdemeanor if used for personal use.

So that's how weed got a flag. Cya next week.

Sources

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-estonia-flag/estonian-district-adopts-cannabis-flag-after-online-poll-idUSKCN1IH19H
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/17/estonian-district-adopts-cannabis-leaf-flag-symbol-online-poll/