CANNABIS DAY PICNIC `A GREAT PARTY, MAN'

Not all the grass at the Halifax Common is underfoot.

Some of it, during yesterday's third annual Cannabis Day Picnic to support
the legalization of marijuana, was rolled into spliffs, cones, joints, and
doobies or painted on hats, T-shirts and bare-breasted women.

Organizers were expecting more than 2,000 people to the Commons for what
has become one of the most provocative events of Canada Day. But while the
crowd of people didn't approach the expected numbers - a steady crowd of
about 500 attended the picnic - spirits were, well, high.

"It's a great party, man," said one young picnic-goer who declined to give
his name. "It's all about getting marijuana legal."

The rally attracts a diverse group of aging hippies, hippie wannabes,
punkers, and others who defy classification.

But while the mood is upbeat and friendly, there is a serious side.

"We are turning people into criminals who don't deserve to be criminals,"
said Antigonish pot activist Gene Purdy.

Purdy, 55, is a Rastafarian preacher and antique dealer who says pot should
be legalized for anyone who wants to use it.

"It's not an addictive substance; it's a herb," he said.

Purdy was arrested at a pot-smoking rally in Antigonish last March and
charged with possession. He goes to court this fall to answer those charges
and when he does, he will argue freedom of religion gives him the right to
smoke dope.

"It is my religious right to smoke grass and hash," he said.

Purdy, and some of the other speakers at yesterday's rally, argued there
are practical reasons to legalize marijuana. Purdy said society can no
longer afford to put people in jail for minor offences.

"We shouldn't be making criminals out of teenagers for smoking grass," said
Purdy. "It effectively screws up their lives."

Bruce Wark, a Coast columnist and University of King's College journalism
professor, said Canada's drug laws are archaic.

"Our drug laws are stupid," he told the crowd. "They are based on unnatural
fear and moral panic."

The police were conspicuous by their absence at the picnic, despite the
open smoking of marijuana and small group of bare-breasted women with
marijuana leaves painted on their bodies.

That seemed to suit many people on the Common.

Bob Howard, a guitarist and avid toker, said the legalization of grass is
just a technicality for him.

"Pot is legal in my life," he said.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski