News (Media Awareness Project) - CN QU: Activists Stage Smoke-In For Legal Pot |
| Title: | CN QU: Activists Stage Smoke-In For Legal Pot |
| Published On: | 2002-05-05 |
| Source: | Montreal Gazette (CN QU) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-30 16:01:05 |
ACTIVISTS STAGE SMOKE-IN FOR LEGAL POT
A sweet, pungent smell filled the streets of midtown neighbourhoods
yesterday.
It was the odour of pot being smoked freely as hundreds of young
people demonstrated for the decriminalization of marijuana.
The smoke-in was one of similar events in 100 cities - from Adelaide
to Zagreb - to get cannabis products off the banned list.
"We'd like to end prohibition so that we can get on with our lives and
no longer be treated as criminals for a simple choice of what we
choose to consume," said Marc-Boris St-Maurice, 33, interim leader of
the Marijuana Party, which has run candidates in federal elections.
"It's a relatively harmless plant," St-Maurice argued.
Alexandre Neron, 23, interim leader of the Bloc Pot, said once
marijuana is no longer prohibited there should be public debate on how
it should be sold.
St-Maurice and Neron have been charged with drug-trafficking and
possession of marijuana at the Compassion Club, a non-profit centre
that provides marijuana to those suffering from certain chronic
illnesses. Their cases are now before the court.
About 400 men and women sat in Berri Square and smoked pot in the
sunshine as taped music blared from loudspeakers on a flatbed truck.
Reggae, punk and rap tunes were mixed in with 1960s Jefferson Airplane
and contemporary odes to the weed by Quebec group Mononc' Serge.
Many celebrants held green and white balloons with printed marijuana
leaves. Montreal police were on duty in a handful of vehicles on and
off the square, but did not interfere.
A report issued last week by a Senate committee on illegal drugs
indicated prohibition is having little impact and young Canadians are
smoking in greater numbers than ever. The report estimated that 30 to
50 per cent of people age 15 to 24 have used cannabis.
"We think prohibition is not an effective policy method," the
committee's chairman, Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, told a press conference.
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said decriminalization of
marijuana possession is not one of his legislative priorities.
A sweet, pungent smell filled the streets of midtown neighbourhoods
yesterday.
It was the odour of pot being smoked freely as hundreds of young
people demonstrated for the decriminalization of marijuana.
The smoke-in was one of similar events in 100 cities - from Adelaide
to Zagreb - to get cannabis products off the banned list.
"We'd like to end prohibition so that we can get on with our lives and
no longer be treated as criminals for a simple choice of what we
choose to consume," said Marc-Boris St-Maurice, 33, interim leader of
the Marijuana Party, which has run candidates in federal elections.
"It's a relatively harmless plant," St-Maurice argued.
Alexandre Neron, 23, interim leader of the Bloc Pot, said once
marijuana is no longer prohibited there should be public debate on how
it should be sold.
St-Maurice and Neron have been charged with drug-trafficking and
possession of marijuana at the Compassion Club, a non-profit centre
that provides marijuana to those suffering from certain chronic
illnesses. Their cases are now before the court.
About 400 men and women sat in Berri Square and smoked pot in the
sunshine as taped music blared from loudspeakers on a flatbed truck.
Reggae, punk and rap tunes were mixed in with 1960s Jefferson Airplane
and contemporary odes to the weed by Quebec group Mononc' Serge.
Many celebrants held green and white balloons with printed marijuana
leaves. Montreal police were on duty in a handful of vehicles on and
off the square, but did not interfere.
A report issued last week by a Senate committee on illegal drugs
indicated prohibition is having little impact and young Canadians are
smoking in greater numbers than ever. The report estimated that 30 to
50 per cent of people age 15 to 24 have used cannabis.
"We think prohibition is not an effective policy method," the
committee's chairman, Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, told a press conference.
Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said decriminalization of
marijuana possession is not one of his legislative priorities.
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