Pubdate: Wed, 21 Apr 2010
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2010 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/comment/letters/write/
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Ian Gillespie
Note: Ian Gillespie is a Free Press city columnist.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

POT PROHIBITION POLITELY IGNORED

MARIJUANA: More than 1,000 tokers took part in 420 Day celebrations 
yesterday at Victoria Park

It was a bit like Guy Lombardo counting down to the New Year.

Except instead of the stroke of midnight, it was 4:20 p.m. And 
instead of popping the cork on bottles of champagne, the reggae 
musician urged the Victoria Park crowd to "Get your bong ready and 
spark that (stuff) up!"

And then the crowd lit pipes and joints of marijuana.

And frankly, it was a lot calmer than any New Year's Eve party I've 
ever attended.

It was all part of 420 Day, an annual counter-culture celebration for 
marijuana enthusiasts around the world.

While more than 1,000 people gathered in Victoria Park for Tuesday's 
event, larger crowds were expected elsewhere, including a gathering 
at the Vancouver Art Gallery (at which former Londoner Marc Emery, 
still awaiting extradition to the U.S. for selling marijuana seeds 
online, was expected to speak), a 420 film festival in Calgary and a 
celebration in Niagara Falls at Hwy. 420 and Victoria Ave.

"It's just a very peaceful day," said 19-year-old Kalen 
Charles-Dunne. "You've got people of every kind . . . brought 
together by something as simple as a plant."

Earlier in the day, London Police Const. Amy Phillipo had said police 
would be monitoring the local event.

"People will be held responsible for their actions," she said. "We're 
not going to be turning a blind eye."

But a blind eye was precisely what was turned. At 4:20 p.m., three 
police officers strolled through the middle of the park while clouds 
of pot smoke billowed round them. Later, an officer said there'd been 
"no problems" and no charges had been laid.

Welcome to Canada's weird world of wacky tobacky, where pot is mainly 
illegal (except for some medical exemptions) but where many otherwise 
law-abiding Canadians have decided it's a law they'll politely ignore.

"It's a matter of freedom and civil rights," said a 48-year-old woman 
who identified herself as Rose Marie. "We don't want to be harassed 
because we choose weed over booze. As far as I'm concerned, booze 
causes a lot more problems."

Statistics show that about three million Canadians aged 15 or older - 
or about 12% of the population -- admitted having used cannabis at 
least once in 2002 (the year for which most recent figures are 
available). The Canadian Community Health Survey found 1.1% of 
Canadians used cannabis daily, 3.9% at least once a week and 6% at 
least once a month.

And just last week, an Angus Reid poll revealed 53% of Canadians 
support the legalization of marijuana.

"I don't take Tylenol or Advil, so if I have an ache or pain I'll 
blaze one," said Kroo Kidd, a 35 year-old environmental science 
student at UWO. "I can tap into myself better that way."

Why 420?

The origin of the expression is cloudy. It's been said to correspond 
to the number of active chemical compounds in marijuana, California 
police code for a pot bust, the birthdate of Bob Marley, the death of 
Adolf Hitler and even Bob Dylan's song Rainy Day Women No. 12 and 35, 
which is commonly known for its refrain, "Everybody must get stoned." 
(And in case you're wondering, 12 times 35 equals 420.) Recent 
consensus, however, links 420 (which is now observed every year on 
the 20th day of the fourth month) to the daily time (4:20 p.m.) that 
a group of high school students in San Rafael, Calif., routinely 
gathered to smoke pot during the early 1970s.

As the tokers were starting to depart Victoria Park at about 5 p.m., 
I noticed one young man yelling angrily.

He was upset, it turned out, that others had left their litter behind.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom