WEED TAKES THE BLOOM OFF PRIZEWINNING FLORAL DISPLAY

Civic leaders in Glastonbury liked the tubs and hanging baskets full of
colourful plants, which brightened up one of the town centre shops. So much
so, that they awarded the shop, In Harmony With Nature, a first prize in the
Glastonbury in Bloom competition.

But the police were less impressed. They discovered, among the
chrysanthemums, roses and heathers, 13 tiny plants with distinctive leaves.
Swiftly, the plants were uprooted and Free Rob Cannabis, the shop owner, was
arrested - on suspicion of cultivating an illegal drug.

Mr Cannabis, aged 31, who changed his name from Robert Christopher last year
as part of his campaign to get the substance legalised, has been bailed
while the plants are analysed. But Glastonbury's deputy mayor, Alan Gloak,
who chaired the floral judging panel, said cannabis plants in the town's
displays were "endemic". Council workers had had to remove them from around
the war memorial and from other tubs. "People scatter these seeds all over
the place," he said.

Mr Cannabis sells hemp products, such as clothing and wallets, and a big
plastic cannabis plant stands like an object of worship in his shop window.
He denied sowing the plants now under scrutiny, but said: "It is my belief
that the cannabis plant is a gift of God and its attempted prohibition is in
itself a crime. At my trial I shall present evidence that proves... the
Misuse of Drugs Act contravenes 11 articles and all five principles of the
UN Declaration of Human Rights. It will be to the jury to judge on the
legality of this... harmful law."

Mr Cannabis, who was last year convicted of possession of a controlled drug
after trying to give a cannabis plant to the Home secretary, is planning to
press for the drug's legalisation by leading a peace pipe ceremony at
Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, London, this weekend, which will mark the 70th
anniversary of cannabis prohibition in the UK.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst