Pubdate: Wed, 01 Jun 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: S1
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Mike Hager

POP-UP POT CROP SEEKS TO 'OVERGROW' GOVERNMENT

David Hill says the sunny southern steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery
offer him a perfect and very public spot for his urban pop-up cannabis
crop.

He originally wanted to start growing his collection of more than 100
seedlings across the street at the courthouse, but there was too much
shade when he scouted locations for his effort to "overgrow the
government" and get it to immediately decriminalize marijuana.

For the past week and a half, the burly man nicknamed Roofer Dave and
his band of half a dozen protesters have spent their nights sleeping
on the steps and their days smoking joint after joint while handing
out dozens of marijuana plants to passersby. If the product is on
hand, any adult donating to the cause can also take a hit of
concentrated cannabis or "dabs" at a ramshackle bar, he said.

Police visit regularly but have asked him only to limit his encampment
to its existing three awnings, and to keep the reggae and electronic
dance music pumping from his large speakers at a respectable volume.
They also warned him he could be charged with trafficking.

"In Ontario, you'd be right, and I'd probably be convicted for
admitting to it," said Mr. Hill, as his craggy mug breaks into a
smile. "But I said [to the officers], 'I'm here in B.C., so that's not
going to hold water.' "

Vancouver's laissez-faire attitude to marijuana stands in sharp
contrast with the approach taken recently in Toronto, where police and
bylaw officers fanned out last Thursday and raided 43 dispensaries -
charging roughly 90 people with drug and bylaw offences.

While Toronto awaits a staff report into how to best regulate the
city's illegal dispensary sector, police have stated that their
investigation is ongoing and the 40-odd stores that weren't hit last
week could face similar action.

In Vancouver on Tuesday, the city announced its next move in the
year-long effort to get pot shops licensed. Rather than police raids,
the city has sent in lawyers, who have applied for injunctions against
17 of the 55 shops that haven't qualified for licences but refuse to
close.

One dispensary is now operating with the city's approval and several
others are close to gaining a coveted business licence. Roughly two
dozen pot shops could be left standing under these bylaws after the
city gains compliance from the other offending dispensaries, a process
it has acknowledged could take more than a year.

Constable Brian Montague, a Vancouver police spokesman, said officers
from the downtown district told him they have had a good relationship
with Mr. Hill throughout his stay. However, Constable Montague said
the officers were unaware that the protesters are giving away
marijuana plants or offering up dabs.

"They're aware of the little clone plants, but their understanding was
that was the only illegal substance that he had," Constable Montague
said Tuesday.

Anyone handing out illicit drugs can be charged with trafficking,
regardless of whether they are profiting from the transaction, he
added. "Just because I give away crack cocaine doesn't mean it's not
trafficking."

"I've been giving away weed since I was 15," said Mr. Hill, who admits
to various prison stints related to the drug. "I've never been a profiteer."

Rick Lehman, a cattle auctioneer from Phoenix, said he and his family
were surprised by the protest as they strolled the streets of
Vancouver on Monday after disembarking from an Alaskan cruise.

"It's different, very different, very very different," he said. "You'd
be in jail if you'd have done that down [in Phoenix]," he said. "To
each his own, just don't force it on anybody else and don't let the
kids have it."  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D