FFDLR Remembrance Ceremony 2023

Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform (ACT), held it’s 28^th Annual Remembrance Ceremony – for those who lose their life to illicit drugs on the 23rd of October this year.

Over 100 people gathered on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin, on beautiful Ngunnawal Land. For the last two years, the event has been dimmed by rain – this time, it was blessed with flower petals. As Reverend Martin Johnson read the names of over 300 people that have passed away from drug use (as requested by families and friends), flower petals fell from the sky. 

It was a warm ceremony, sombre and melancholy but brimming with hope – the ceremony was held mere days before the ACT’s drug decriminalisation legislation came into effect.

Other speakers included – Christopher Gough, Executive Director, Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation & Advocacy (CAHMA), Johnathan Davis, ACT Greens Member for Brindabella. 

You can watch the Facebook livestream of the event here, and check out some of the photos below!