ROLLING RIGHT ALONG

A local marijuana activist is taking his fight to end prohibition to
Ottawa, but he's taking his sweet time on the way there.

Neil Magnuson continued his "freedom tour" in Vancouver yesterday. He
began in Victoria, and plans to rollerblade across the country before
reaching the nation's capital in November.

"I'm taking my time, I want to talk to as many people along the way
as possible," said Magnuson in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. "I
want to talk to them about freedom and righst and wake them up."

Magnuson believes people should be free to use marijuana and that
prohibiting the drug only makes more people use it.

"The amount of money we spend on controlling drugs is doing more
damage than good," he contends.

As for the physical aspect of his trip, Magnuson believes he can go
the distance.

"I have faith I can meet the challenge physically," he said, "at the
same time though, I'm not going to be stupid about it and kill
myself. When the terrain is too rough for blades I'll get on my bike instead."

You can follow Magnuson's progress at www.freedomtour.ca.