The Internet isn’t just the source of numerous videos of cats and naked girls, it’s also the recent origin of one of the world’s coolest flags.
The small Estonian town of Kanepi, whose name means Cannabis in Estonian, was named as such in 1923 in reference to the Hemp plants surrounding the town. The Estonian government decided in 2017 to reshape its municipal system to reflect the changing community. A new flag was commissioned and a vote set up via the Internet.
Thanks to the community site RedditInternet users learned the name of the town and immediately decided to propose a flag with a white background, two green stripes and a huge Cannabis plant.
The number of votes cast was 15855, twice the number of residents in the municipality. Votes were of course posted from all four corners of the globe.
The town council was given the choice of whether or not to implement this popular vote, which was greatly disturbed by outside speakers.Arno Kakk, one of the council members, spoke out publicly on the subject: “I’m not in favor of a flag of this nature“.
The vote was more than close, finally giving reason to the Internet users with a score of 9 votes against 8 (probably thanks to the great publicity brought to the city) at the end of 2018 . A flag that is legally admissible, since it complies with Estonian national guidelines for municipal flags, and is therefore displayed in front of Kanepi town hall.
Cannabis is banned in Estonia, but possession of less than 7.5 grams is considered negligible and can only be punished by a small fine. Good news if you want to visit the city.
Mike Teeve
