Police say there was no need for them to intervene when pro-cannabis campaigners lit up on the grounds of Parliament during a protest rally.



Senior Sergeant Scott Miller said police had acted in consultation with the Speaker of the House, Lockwood Smith, and a decision had been made to monitor the situation and act only if there was violence or an attempt to breach the barricades.



"We had a good meeting with the leaders prior to the march; the police role was basically to bring the protest from the park through town - not interfering with the traffic and the public - to Parliament where they were going to stay in the grass area. We were looking for a nice peaceful morning which we had, which was good.



"I don't think it was a situation where we needed to arrest anyone. The actions of the protesters were nice and peaceful; they were orderly...there was no violence. Ours was a monitoring role and to make sure they didn't come past the barriers. Everything was good."



Around 50 pro-cannabis campaigners descended on Parliament this morning, openly smoking cannabis joints and pipes.



Organiser Dakta Green - who runs a cannabis cafe in Auckland and legally changed his name from the less colourful Ken Morgan - said the protest followed a three month nationwide tour which had collected 4300 signatures on a petition calling for cannabis law reform.



Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis party leader Michael Appleby said the fact police had not moved against any of the protesters who were openly smoking the drug showed how attitudes had changed compared to a similar rally in 1996, when a dozen smokers were dragged away and arrested.

"Here, 15 years later, you can see that it's a peaceful demonstration and the police just watch it. They acknowledge that it's a political protest. I applaud their exercising of their discretion.''