Jeffrey Toobin's piece on the inmates and staff at the Baltimore City Detention Center illustrates the devastation of human lives and communities which decades of drug prohibition have wrought ("This Is My Jail," April 14th). Most American drug-prohibition enforcement is in minority communities, even though drug use among minorities is virtually no higher than it is in the white population. With a large percentage of the young men from minority neighborhoods locked up, and few opportunities for young women to make a living wage as anything other than their jailers, sex, romance, smuggling, and gangs within detention facilities should come as no surprise. Even after huge expenditures, the erosion of civil rights across the country, and the disruption of communities and families, drugs are still available both outside and inside our jails and prisons. It is baffling that anyone would think that mere regime and policy changes could improve the conditions in jails, communities, or in the country at large. Trish Randall Vancouver, Wash. [end]
Clock Strikes 4:20 And Smoke Fills Air on Parliament Hill Thousands of people were on Parliament Hill to smoke a joint or otherwise support legalizing marijuana in Canada on Sunday. Organizers estimate there was a crowd of at least 15,000 people at the height of the event, when 4:20 p.m. struck and smoke filled the air. Young to old people gathered from noon until 5 p.m., when there was music and commentary by Precious Chong, daughter of actor and marijuana activist Tommy Chong. [continues 258 words]
Some 30,000 People Take Part As Pot Purveyors and Practitioners Light Up Peacefully Easter Sunday in Vancouver featured a holy grail of a different nature. A hazy, crazy afternoon offered 420 No. 20 outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. Since 1995, increasingly large numbers of pot purveyors and practitioners have gathered outside the gallery on April 20 in what has become a worldwide phenomenon. "This is the 20th 4/20 in #Vancouver, where it all started," tweeted out marijuana advocate Jodie Emery. "Now it's on every continent on earth, celebrations in over 300 cities! #420" [continues 376 words]
Thousands Toke Up a Storm in Pro-Pot Rally at Yonge-Dundas Square Thousands of marijuana activists gave new meaning to "Easter grass" on Sunday. Yonge-Dundas Square was the smoky site for Toronto's eighth annual 4/20 demonstration, a global event pushing for the legalization of pot. In Canada, groups in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary and Halifax all took a hit from a joint at 4:20 p.m. in their times zones to show solidarity for the April 20th pro-pot rallies. [continues 308 words]
After Madison Walker quit heroin, he urged Connor Brennan to get clean, too. Brennan, 20, thought about Walker, who had grown up in the same Fairfax County subdivision and was sober, healthy, close with his parents again. Look how happy he is, Brennan thought. I want to be like that. A few nights later, Brennan was in a detox program in Chantilly. And Walker, 27, was dead. He'd taken one last hit, in a bathroom of his family's home in Springfield, and collapsed with the needle still in his arm. [continues 2309 words]
Nearly 2,000 Revellers Light Up at Annual 4/20 Rally Close to 2,000 people gathered at the Legislative Building grounds on Sunday, their eyes impatiently on the time, awaiting for 4:20 p.m. to strike. A countdown, followed by boisterous cheering and a cloud of smoke marked Winnipeg's effort in the annual 4/20 celebration, the pro-marijuana rally that is recognized worldwide. An interview with Bill Vander-Graff, a retired cop and licensed medical marijuana user, came to an abrupt halt at 4:20 so he could relish in the festivities. [continues 358 words]
As trip-hop music played through booming speakers, sun-drenched parkgoers on Sunday sauntered through Civic Center with the pungent smell of marijuana hanging in the air. And you know what? Everything was fine. Just as the rollout of legal recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1 went smoothly, Denver's 4/20 rally - a two-day event this year- also went off without much of a hitch. This was the weekend many in city government dreaded-the first 4/20 celebration of the new pot age. [continues 524 words]
Recent Deaths Put Spotlight on Largely Unmonitored Edibles DENVER (AP) - A college student eats more than the recommended dose of a marijuana-laced cookie and jumps to his death from a hotel balcony. A husband with no history of violence is accused of shooting his wife in the head, possibly after eating pot-infused candy. The two recent deaths have stoked concerns about Colorado's recreational marijuana industry and the effects of the drug, especially since cookies, candy and other pot edibles can be exponentially more potent than a joint. [continues 725 words]
As corporate marijuana producers set up under Health Canada, understanding chemical compounds allows researchers to produce strains tailored to specific needs, writes MEGAN DELAIRE. Deep within the labs of a 55,000-square-foot Markham facility, past security checkpoints and under sterile white lights, molecular scientists and botanists are growing a special new medicine using a secret formula given to them by a company in Israel. AviDekel is a strain of marijuana with almost no tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive component of the plant, and a high concentration of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound shown to have a number of positive therapeutic effects. [continues 940 words]
Regarding "Medical pot push driven by profit": Speaking as a lobbyist/advocate for law enforcement in Congress, Douglas MacKinnon sounds like a lobbyist for Big Pharma. In attacking a competitive product - God's green plant - he protects the billions in profits that those wonderful pills generate. God didn't make junk. Marijuana is a low-cost, low-side-effect and highly effective medicine for millions of people. My colleagues need to accept and even embrace it. ADAMSTOWN, MD. [end]
It is obvious that the regulatory agencies of the state of Colorado are overwhelmed by the challenges presented by the legalization of marijuana. This parallels the difficulties faced in the oversight of facilities that care for the elderly. As someone who lives next door to a "state-licensed" elder "care" facility, I have witnessed firsthand that there is little to no oversight. The facility's operators seem well aware of the shortcomings in oversight and blithely take advantage of them, reaping a lush harvest of public funding for their ever-expanding business. [continues 74 words]
The JBC will take a slow tack in spending the new tax revenues. A Colorado legislative committee on Tuesday approved a cautious plan for spending marijuana tax revenue in the next fiscal year - coming more than $20 million below what Gov. John Hickenlooper had requested. The plan approved by the legislature's Joint Budget Committee calls for $31.4 million - including $22.9 million from marijuana taxes - to be put into prevention of youth drug use, addiction treatment, research and public education campaigns. Hickenlooper originally requested to spend nearly $75 million but later scaled back his proposal to $54 million. [continues 211 words]
A Fresno County Superior Court judge will consider arguments heard Tuesday before ruling on a Fresno County medical marijuana cultivation ordinance that will impose heavy fines on its first violators in the next few days. Judge Bruce Smith said he expects a ruling by the first week of May. He initially had difficulties with the legal filing and said there should have been two separate filings, an injunction and an appeal. But Smith said he was not "altogether unsympathetic" with the Holapatiphone family, which was fined $43,000 by Fresno County supervisors in noncriminal penalties after 43 medical marijuana plants were discovered without a search warrant by Fresno County sheriff's deputies in February. The Fresno County ordinance bans any marijuana cultivation, even if it's for medical purposes. [continues 177 words]
Rulings on Medicaid Expansion and Traces of Pot in Drivers' Blood Are Sure to Bring More Drama. A pair of rulings from Arizona courts leave the state's residents wondering what's next. The most far-reaching - and potentially costly - - comes from the Arizona Court of Appeals, which reinstated a lawsuit filed by GOP lawmakers on the losing side of last year's vote to expand the state's Medicaid program. The Appeals Court said a lower court was wrong to dismiss the case on the grounds lawmakers had no standing to sue. It sent the case back to be decided on its merits. [continues 493 words]
Annual 4/20 Celebration Mixes Music, Sales and Political Activism Part Carnival, Part Raucous Marketplace, Part Political Statement - 4/20 Vancouver Has Evolved into a Celebration That Epitomizes the Marijuana Movement. The annual event at the Vancouver Art Gallery attracted a crush of thousands of people Sunday who came to smoke pot, party, stand up for the legalization of recreational pot use in Canada and sample the goods from the dozens of booths that crowded the squares and cordoned off streets around the art gallery. [continues 697 words]
Stand up, but don't light up, say organizers of Alberta's largest pro pot celebration. Alberta 420 director Keith Fagin says some younger participants in the annual Edmonton 420 Rally, set to take place at the legislature grounds Sunday afternoon, have a misconception that smoking up in public is legal on April 20. "We never encourage people to consume publicly in the open. But we know and the police know there are going to be people who will spark up at 4:20 p.m.," Fagin said. [continues 239 words]
The Evidence Shows That Enthusiasm for Medical Marijuana Has Outpaced the Scientific Evidence in Favour of It With very little fanfare, Health Canada has changed the law and now allows physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients for certain medical conditions. On April 1, Health Canada implemented its Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations. Why it chose April Fool's Day and why it spells marijuana with an "h" are still unclear to me. Nevertheless, Canadians can now go to their doctor and ask for a prescription of dried cannabis for medical purposes. But just because you can does not mean that you should. [continues 595 words]
State Supreme Court Says Inactive Marijuana Traces Do Not Prove Impairment. Motorists who have used marijuana cannot be charged with driving under the influence on that basis alone, even if some traces of the drug are detected in their blood, the state's top court ruled Tuesday. Arizona Supreme Court justices disagreed with the Maricopa County Attorney Office, which argued before the court in November, that drivers whose blood tests reveal the presence of an inactive marijuana metabolite known as Carboxy-THC can be prosecuted for driving while impaired. [continues 426 words]
CONCORD - Supporters of a grow-your-own provision in the state's medical marijuana law were dealt a blow by a Senate committee, which voted 3-1 on Tuesday to send the self-cultivation proposal to interim study, most likely killing the bill for this year. The vote against the measure, which had passed the Democrat-controlled House by a large margin, protects Gov. Maggie Hassan from a potentially embarrassing veto fight. In addition to a veto threat from the governor, the bill was opposed by the Department of Safety, the New Hampshire State Police and individual police chiefs. [continues 534 words]
It was supposed to be a $400 marijuana purchase that was part of a sting operation conducted by undercover police officers. But three alleged dealers, authorities said, tried to rob an undercover officer and triggered a shootout Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of a Garfield shopping center filled with people, including teenagers on spring break. When it was over, a Paramus police officer and one suspect were in the hospital with gun-shot wounds, and three suspects, including the injured shooter, were under arrest, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a news conference at Hackensack University Medical Center. [continues 1015 words]
LAS VEGAS - Officials have received at least 178 applications from people seeking to start medical marijuana-related businesses in Clark County. The Clark County Business License Department announced the totals 90 minutes before a 5 p.m. Tuesday submission deadline. The number includes 60 applications related to cultivation, 77 in the dispensary category, one in the laboratory category and 40 in production. Clark County became the first municipality in southern Nevada to accept applications for marijuana-related businesses after approving regulations last month. [continues 54 words]
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont library is resorting to locking its public restrooms to curb a persistent problem of drug paraphernalia clogging the drains. Burlington's Fletcher Free Library hopes to have locksmiths complete the work this week. Library officials say the bathrooms on the mezzanine level of the library were closed three weeks ago for the third time after needles and other drug paraphernalia clogged the drains. The Burlington Free Press reports that once the locks are installed, library patrons will have to exchange their library card or other identification for a key to the bathrooms. That policy mirrors one already in place for using the handicapped-accessible restroom. The clogged drains were noticed before they could cause water damage to the bathrooms. [end]
Paul Gray's final weeks were a blur of extreme drug abuse, which neither his doctor nor his bandmates would help his wife confront, she testified in Polk County District Court on Tuesday. Brenna Gray said her husband, the bassist and a founder of the internationally known band Slipknot, relapsed into drug addiction in about 2008. Gray testified that she raised concerns about why his Des Moines, Iowa, doctor, Daniel Baldi, continued prescribing the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, which her husband had a history of abusing. Paul Gray, 38, died of a drug overdose at an Urbandale motel in May 2010. [continues 618 words]
Health Canada Doesn't Have Resources to Implement New System, Liberal MP Says OTTAWA- The federal government has received hundreds of applications from pot producers seeking to become licensed marijuana growers under the Conservatives' new scheme, but has processed fewer than two dozen so far. In a formal written response last week to Liberal MP Hedy Fry, Health Minister Rona Ambrose provided a snapshot of the rocky transition to a new legal scheme that has cost nearly $2 million, began in earnest but was stalled by a court injunction three weeks ago. [continues 840 words]
It Works Well in Palliative Care, and the College Des Medecins Du Quebec Should Show More of an Open Mind Toward It The College Des Medecins Du Quebec Is Too Negative About Medical Marijuana The College des medecins du Quebec (CMQ), with its statement issued April 1 regarding medical marijuana (cannabis), insists on disseminating misinformation, which only serves to deter physicians from prescribing to patients who could benefit. As a palliative-care physician specializing in the symptom management of patients living with (and eventually dying from) incurable cancers, I have been prescribing medical cannabis with very good results. In some instances, it has allowed my patients to reduce their need for opioids, thus reducing the potentially serious side effects of narcotic medications. In addition to managing pain, medical marijuana has helped alleviate other troubling symptoms in my patient population, such as anxiety, insomnia, nausea and lack of appetite. [continues 558 words]
'Complementary Strengths' Of Team Key to Growing Medical Marijuana Startup, Ex-Health Minister Says The province's former Liberal health minister, George Smitherman, is getting into the pot game with a Markham pharmacist and a former deputy chief of the Toronto police. The trio - a veritable dream team in the medical marijuana industry - secured a property in Durham Region with about 16,000 square feet of serviceable indoor growing space, said Smitherman, and is in the midst of preparing an application. The township of Uxbridge recently passed a motion granting them a "no objection" letter to accompany their application to Health Canada. [continues 648 words]
10,000 to Celebrate Pot at 420 Ottawa Sunday To be blunt, I've got the right name for this article. One of the largest "peaceful celebrations" in Canada happens on Parliament Hill Sunday at noon, and it has nothing to do with Easter. It's 420 Ottawa - Fill The Hill. Thousands - as many as 10,000 - of pot smokers and pot smoker-supporters will gather to light up for an afternoon, showing their desire for the discrimination of marijuana. It's not, however, a political info-session. [continues 205 words]
Few People Openly Smoke As Locals Take Part In Pro-marijuana Demonstration KITCHENER - They came, they listened to loud music, they played hacky-sack. A pro-marijuana rally in front of Kitchener's City Hall marking 4/20, cannabis culture's annual day of celebration, felt like more of an afternoon hang-out than a political demonstration Sunday. "Some people celebrate Easter, we have 4/20. This is our holiday," said 18-year-old John Angus of Cambridge, who brought his giant glass bong to the rally. [continues 504 words]
GUELPH - The air over the University of Guelph's Johnston Green park was thick with the pungent smell of marijuana on the weekend as students and visitors from the city and area rallied for decriminalization of the psychoactive weed. Compared to other years, the Sunday afternoon event was subdued, perhaps because it was Easter weekend and many students were cramming for final exams Monday, though a couple hundred people still came out and lit up. They lounged on the parkland, imbibing, throwing Frisbees, strumming guitars and feeding the Attack of the Munchies, a mini Woodstock complete with hippie outfits reminiscent of the 1960s among some. [continues 380 words]
Weed Day. Annual Protest/Party Touts Medical Uses, Potential Tax Benefits Thousands of pro-marijuana activists lit up blunts and bongs at Parliament Hill on Sunday afternoon to promote pot legalization. The annual 4-20 Weed Day rally was less like a protest and more like a giant outdoor party, with people hula-hooping, playing Hacky Sack, waving giant marijuana-leaf flags and donning dreads. Claude Galipeau, spokesperson for the committee that organizes the rally, said the group's message to the Conservative government is "stop unjustly criminalizing cannabis and start benefiting from it." [continues 210 words]
For many, Sunday marked the observance of Easter, the most important holiday in the Christian calendar, and an excuse for the less faithful to enjoy a visit from everyone's favourite bunny. For many others, this Easter was also cause to spark up a fat one, as they marked 4/20, the most important holiday in the marijuana calendar. Either way, it meant a lot of chocolate was consumed. The goal of the 4/20 movement is to advocate for pot legalization, but in the absence of serious movement on that file (Justin Trudeau's vague promises aside), it can also serve as a reminder that there is still a struggle for people who are using weed to treat chronic pain, glaucoma, seizures and a host of other ailments. [continues 495 words]
Annual Marijuana Celebration Battles Weather, Permit Issues No amount of Mother Nature can snuff out the enthusiasm of local pot smokers. Hundreds of peaceful Edmonton pot smokers occupied the Alberta Legislature grounds on Sunday for the 2014 4-20 Rally - Alberta's largest pro-cannabis gathering. The event - which saw close to 8,000 people attend in 2012 - was temporarily hijacked by a flash rain storm which forced attendees to take cover under the tress, seemingly taking the wind out of the sails of the event. But as the clouds moved out, the crowd came tumbling in and the number of attendees swelled to just under 1,000. [continues 378 words]
It may be the one day a year when people can smoke marijuana in public without being arrested, but the crowd toking up at the legislature Sunday was thinner than usual. "I can't believe how light (the crowds are). Probably because it's Easter Sunday," shrugged Rick Starink, a veteran toker who celebrated his 65th birthday with a joint or two Sunday. "Last year, you couldn't see the asphalt or the grass here; I think that was one of the higher turnouts." [continues 436 words]
Allowing marijuana for medical use was one battle. Allowing it for recreational use is the next one. The 11th annual 420 Rally in Niagara Falls Sunday preached one simple message for hours: Stop making criminals of cannabis users. People shouldn't need a prescription or jump through government hoops to enjoy their stash, participants said. As their yearly motto goes, Free the Weed. For head injury survivor Reggie Storm of Ridgeway, life without marijuana would be a "nightmare." Every other drug he tried kept him bedridden and depressed. [continues 152 words]
Brantford's First 420 Freedom Rally Attracts Crowd To Victoria Park We have jobs, we're involved in our community, we want to make it a better place to live. We're not just a bunch of lazy stoners." Mike Dinsmore, Brantford Cannabis Club The city's first 420 Freedom Rally in support of the legalization of marijuana was a pretty mellow affair. A couple of hundred mostly young people gathered in Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon to openly smoke pot, extol the virtues of the plant and enjoy each other's company. [continues 413 words]
Marijuana Activists Roll Into Capital For Annual 420 Gathering Sunday afternoon was a time to smoke pot, not talk about pot. Thousands of Ottawans did so in earnest as the crisp spring wind carried their aroma and loose, amplified music down Wellington St. Organizers of 420 Ottawa "Fill the Hill" were expecting upwards of 10,000 pot smokers and pot smoker-supporters but it appears Easter-related family obligations forced many would-be attendees to give up their Doritos for a ham, at least until a little later in the afternoon. By 4:20 p.m., the entire lawn was filled. [continues 310 words]
Allowing marijuana medically was one battle. Allowing it for recreational use is the next one. The 11th annual 420 Rally in Niagara Falls preached one simple message for hours: Stop making criminals of cannabis users. People shouldn't need a prescription or jump through government hoops to enjoy their stash, participants said. As their yearly motto goes, Free the Weed. For head injury survivor Reggie Storm of Ridgeway, life without marijuana would be a "nightmare." Every other drug he tried kept him bedridden and depressed. [continues 455 words]
I'm writing about Parker Anderson's outstanding April 10 letter, "It's time to end the War on Drugs." The so-called war on drugs is a huge industry and huge bureaucracy. Victory in the drug war is not possible, nor is it the goal. Victory in the drug war would mean that the drug war industry and bureaucracy are out of business. There are basically two types of people who support the so-called war on drugs. The first are those who make their livelihood from it. This includes politicians and bureaucrats who are probably on the payroll of the drug cartels. (Al Capone had hundreds of politicians and prohibition officials on his payroll.) [continues 116 words]
In what's believed to be the first pot recall in Canada, Greenleaf Medicinals of Nanaimo is telling its clients not to smoke the Purple Kush. A Health Canada news release states Greenleaf is voluntarily recalling one batch of marijuana (Purple Kush, Batch PK-1020-13) produced for medical purposes. "The recall is due to issues with the company's production practices which were identified during an inspection by Health Canada and may impact the product." Customers who bought the product should not smoke it. [continues 169 words]
A Nanaimo medicinal pot factory received its license from Health Canada last week and is now officially able to distribute cannabis across Canada. Tilray, located at Duke Point, has been busy trimming, photographing and testing marijuana as it prepares for its first shipments, according to company vice president Philippe Lucas. Tilray has also had a steady stream of interest from locals, with over 1,000 applications being taken in since the company started accepting resumes. "We're settling into a really nice groove," said Lucas. [continues 109 words]
In what's believed to be the first pot recall in Canada, Greenleaf Medicinals of Nanaimo is telling its clients not to smoke the Purple Kush. A Health Canada press release states that Greenleaf is voluntarily recalling one batch of marijuana ( Purple Kush, Batch PK- 10- 20- 13) produced for medical purposes. "The recall is due to issues with the company's production practices which were identified during an inspection by Health Canada and may impact the product." Customers who've purchased the product should not smoke it. [continues 172 words]
There were a few things missing from the city's first Freedom 420 rally on the weekend in support of legalizing marijuana. Surprisingly, no entrepreneurs set up in Victoria Park to sell bags of potato chips or other munchies. Imagine, a crowd of at least 200 people all smoking up and not a bag of Doritos or any other kind of snack available for at least a couple of blocks. Talk about a missed opportunity. It was also somewhat surprising that there wasn't any visible police presence in the park during the rally. [continues 226 words]
Re: 'Pot smokers converge on a Parliament Hill,' April 21. A recent study stated unequivocally that young people who use pot on a fairly regular basis drastically increase their risk of suffering from psychosis and other mental issues later in life. Many other previous studies came to the same conclusion. Margaret Trudeau said the best thing she ever did to cope with her own mental issues was to quit smoking pot. I doubt if Canadian health services, already at the breaking point, is ready to deal with the mental and health issues if pot is legalized. [continues 63 words]
Re: "Is medical marijuana effective?" (Opinion, April 18) It was good to see a physician taking a public stand against the position of the College des medecins du Quebec on both the safety and benefits of medical pot. "Not one lethal overdose from marijuana has ever been reported," Dr. Marcia Gillman points out, adding that "Cannabis is without doubt safer than most, if not all, of the medications I regularly prescribe to my very sick patient population." Except where contraindicated, as in patients with schizophrenia and heart disease, "cannabis can be safely prescribed." [continues 155 words]
B.C. Regulators Warn That Big Profits Are Being Made By Medical-pot Stock Speculators Big profits are being made by share speculators in the emerging marijuana industry, prompting a warning from B.C. regulators to beware the green rush. "Investors need to know that a lot of these startups fail," said Richard Gilhooley of the B.C. Securities Commission. Gilhooley was reacting to the storm of interest surrounding publicly listed companies getting into the medical and non-medical marijuana business in Canada and some U.S states. [continues 809 words]
Marijuana Users Gather To Support Legalization A light rain and the lure of an Easter Sunday supper didn't stop thousands of cannabis users from taking a group hit at the annual Alberta 420 rally at the legislature grounds. The peaceful gathering - with blankets, bongo drums and spontaneous hackey sack games - looked more like a day at the folk festival instead of a protest rally. Edmonton police were on hand making foot patrols and constables on bicycles dotted the perimeter of the legislature to make sure the communal pot-smoking event remained trouble-free. [continues 180 words]
Re: "We shouldn't ignore the effects of marijuana," April 20. Now that the legislation and commercial promotion of pot seems imminent, the marketing wizards will have to comply with the useless scare-warnings on packaging. Instead, why not print a "guarantee" aimed at the younger pot smoker: - - You will become less responsible and more capable of ignoring any tasks that require careful thought or hard work. - - All of the people who love you will suffer for your loss of achievement. You will probably not care or even be aware of their pain. - - You can have the money back, but your wasted time and talent will be gone forever. I despair at the direction we are leading our youth. The piper is obviously back in business. Russell Thompson Victoria [end]
[image caption] SHOT NEAR PROSPECT LAKE: Sarcasm will resonate with those filmgoers pushing for the legalization of pot There are many amusing sequences in Kid Cannabis, but one sure to resonate with local viewers is when teenage drug smuggler Nate Norman has his The Wizard of Oz moment. When Nate realizes he has successfully snuck across the border from Idaho into B.C., he utters his twist on "We're not in Kansas anymore," Dorothy's declaration after landing in Oz. [continues 521 words]
Puffs of marijuana smoke floated above Calgary City Hall Sunday while clouds of it ascended above the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, as part of 420 rallies held across the province and nationwide. While the pro-pot crowd in Calgary numbered in the dozens, the gathering in Edmonton was counted in the thousands. The peaceful assembly in the provincial capital - with blankets, bongo drums and spontaneous hacky sack games - looked more like a day at the folk festival instead of a protest rally, with police dotting the perimeter to make sure the communal pot-smoking event remained trouble-free. [continues 78 words]
Where there's no smoke, there's no fire. About 100 people roll up to Victoria Park for peaceful, arrest-free '420' gathering Police were out in force Sunday, but any trouble they expected went up in smoke when the only person to light up a joint had a licence to chill. Twenty-one-year-old Travis Wright was quickly joined by two of London's finest as the first few plumes of smoke escaped his lips, but he was just as quick on the draw with a medicinal marijuana licence. [continues 166 words]
