Copyright: 2004 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: letters@thejournal.canwest.com
Website: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

CHILL ON THE HILL WILL GREET BUSH

Marijuana Advocates, Gay Couples Set To Voice Their Concerns

OTTAWA -- Fortified by a few tokes on a 25-gram joint, Canada's
self-proclaimed "prince of pot" will be there, hoping that George W. Bush
will catch a whiff and turn his attention to protesters who want the U.S.
to keep its nose out of Canada's marijuana laws.

Some of the country's gay newlyweds are showing up too, bringing their own
dose of northern chill to Bush's first official visit to Ottawa.

As the Bush motorcade rolls on to Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning, the
thousands of anticipated protesters will include those seeking to emphasize
the deep divide in social policy between Canada and the U.S. in the last
couple of years on hot-button social issues like marijuana and gay marriage.

"I think it matters in Canada because whatever happens in the U.S. creates
pressures on social policy issues that we've won," said Toronto gay
activist Michelle Robidoux, who is making the trip on a protest bus.

Marc Emery, equipped with a 25-gram, 32 1/2-centimetre-long marijuana joint
that he says will be enough for 150 people "to have a big hit on," hopes
the American media will notice him even if Bush doesn't.

"There's a lot of money being lined up behind prohibition and the biggest
impetus for that comes from the Bush administration, which is much more
ideologically determined to keep marijuana out of the mainstream than
Canadians typically are," said Emery, head of the B.C. Marijuana Party and
a self-described "prince of pot."

"We want to remind Americans that the Bush agenda is not our agenda in Canada."

While Bush and Prime Minister Paul Martin are expected to avoid the two
high-profile irritants when they meet in private, the public sideshow will
still draw attention to fault lines in Canada-U.S. relations.

While Canada is moving toward legalizing gay marriage, Bush wants to
entrench a ban in the U.S. Constitution. As Parliament debates a bill to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, the U.S. has
lobbied for a crackdown and warned that relaxed laws will tie up the
already strained borders.

"It is not surprising there are going to be protests against his position,
but this is not something Bush is preoccupied with right now," said Donald
Abelson, a specialist in Canadian-American relations.

"He's got bigger fish to fry."

Gay rights and pot will take a back seat to the president's efforts to drum
up support for national missile defence and reinforcing border security,
Abelson said.

"These are the issues that will be on the agenda and they are going to be
far more important than social policy," Abelson said.

"He's not going to sit down and have an informed debate with Paul Martin
about the virtues of marijuana usage; it's just not going to happen."

From Martin's perspective, it is believed there is little incentive to
raise contentious social issues at a time when he is trying to rebuild
relations with the U.S. that deteriorated after Canada refused to support
the Iraq war.