PRO-POT ACTIVIST SEES GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

VANCOUVER (CP)­ Marijuana activists want to use the support that swept
across Canada for Olympic gold medallist Ross Rebagliati to push them up
onto their own pot podium.

Chris Clay said Rebagliati's losing then regaining his gold medal in Nagano
after he tested positive for marijuana has created a golden window of
opportunity for his movement.

So he launched a cross-country petition Friday to push for
decriminalization of the drug.

"It's the kind of opportunity we've been waiting for," said Clay, head of
Hemp Nation.

More than 200 petitions have been sent out to hemp retail stores across the
country. Clay is also logging support from Hemp Nation's web site.

He hopes to have at least 100,000 signatures to send to Ottawa by the end
of the year. But he admits that even if he gets that many signatures, "it's
a political hot potato" and Parliament likely won't respond.

That's why the outpouring of support for Rebagliati from politicians was a
bit surprising, Clay said.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien called Rebagliati in Nagano to congratulate
the Whistler, B.C., snowboarder after his gold medal was reinstated.

This isn't Clay's first effort to decriminalize pot.

Clay, 27, has launched a constitutional challenge to Canada's marijuana
laws. An Ontario court rejected his argument that drug laws violate Charter
rights last August.

An appeal of the case will go ahead this summer and Clay said he will take
the case all the way to the Supreme Court.