Pubdate: Tue, 14 Apr 2015
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Cassidy Olivier
Page: A5

STUDENT SAYS ANTI-POT SHIRT GOT HIM IN TROUBLE

SURREY - High school student Connor Fesenmaier says he's unsure why
school administrators at Surrey's Princess Margaret secondary asked
him to consider removing the anti-pot T-shirt he wore to classes on
Monday, given the anti-drug message the school preaches.

The 18-year-old, his twin brother Duncan and a friend wore shirts
featuring a crossed-out marijuana leaf to promote their opposition to
the legalization and use of pot. The teens are involved in Smart
Approaches to Marijuana Canada, a non-profit group focused on the
science of marijuana use, he explained.

Fesenmaier said they were pulled into the vice-principal's office as
soon as they entered the school Monday morning.

Each was told to consider removing or covering up the shirts because
the message could be confusing to younger students, said Fesenmaier.

"I completely disagree with that," he said. "I have not had a single
person misinterpret it yet. Either someone is giving me a hate stare,
because they are against me supporting [the anti-legalization
movement] or they pat me on the back. I've never seen anyone not know
what the anti-symbol is."

Fesenmaier said all three declined the request, at which point they
were allowed to return to classes unpunished.

Doug Strachan, spokesman for the Surrey School District, described the
conversation with the students as "mature." "There was no ban,"
Strachan said. "It certainly appears with the amount of media calls
and some distribution of [the] statement that the shirts were banned,
that there certainly was a desire to get media attention for something."

Fesenmaier has been involved with the anti-pot movement for several
years. He said he's troubled by the medical marijuana aspect of the
debate, as it creates the "illusion" that pot is a medicine, not an
illegal drug.

He plans on protesting next week's so-called annual 4/20 "smoke out"
at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

"It's only damaged the whole outlook on how kids look at marijuana,"
he said. "They tend to use it and say 'Hey man, it's only medicine -
what's the worst it can do?'

"And that is a terrible thing for a kid to be confused
with."

The teen said he remains confused by the school's request.

"I see kids walking around the school with marijuana paraphernalia,"
he said.

"Shirts with marijuana leaves on them, backpacks with marijuana leaves
on them, cellphone cases with marijuana leaves on them.

"And I've never seen those kids have their items confiscated or asked
to remove or replace them with something else."
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MAP posted-by: Matt