DOOBIE, DOOBIE DID

Marijuana: Joint Meeting at Hwy. 420

They came, they saw, they toked.

Pot smokers arrived by the bus load for Saturday's annual Hwy. 420
pro-marijuana rally, and for once they didn't have to think twice
about lighting up in public. Despite an abundance of doobies, hash
pipes and bongs, the police opted to look the other way.

"At the end of the day, it's not our job to rush in and create
chaos," said one Niagara Regional Police officer observing the rally
in his cruiser.

It's likely the only day of the year pot smokers can spark up in
public without fear of arrests, as hundreds gathered near the
intersection of Highway 420 and Victoria Avenue before marching down
Clifton Hill to chill out at Queen Victoria Park.

At exactly 4:20 p. m., much of the crowd lit up their stash at once
while chanting "Free the Weed!" and lashing out against a proposed
new Conservative bill which would impose mandatory jail sentences to
anyone caught growing marijuana plants for the purpose of
trafficking.

Under Bill C-15, it would be six months in jail for 200 plants or
fewer. Between 201 and 500 plants would warrant a year behind bars.

The bill is being pushed by Niagara Falls MP and Canadian Justice
Minister Rob Nicholson, who wasn't Mr. Popularity Saturday.

"He's probably a good guy, but he has bad policies," said Toronto's
Marko Ivancicevic, one of several speakers at the rally.

"Eventually (pot) is going to be legal and people will realize they
wasted a hundred years and billions of dollars fighting it."

It wasn't just reefer madness for Marge Groenendyk, who attended pot
rallies in Edmonton before moving to Brighton earlier this year.
She's prescribed medical marijuana for her degenerative arthritis,
but she feels it benefits her mind as well.

"It's stress relief, not just medical relief."

She started as a recreational user as way to deal with years of abuse
from an alcoholic husband. Since then, she has grown angry at laws
she feels target a harmless lifestyle.

"We're here to educate," she says. "It needs to be out there ... the
lies and all the things the government is saying."

Proud toker Rob Neron of Hearst is down to half a lung thanks to
Hodgkin's disease. He admits it's "not easy" making the trip to
Niagara Falls every April, but the cause is worth the discomfort.

"It's very dear to me," he says. "It's to educate people and it's
non-violent."

The march down Victoria Avenue drew plenty of stares, including one
from a bemused priest.

Along Clifton Hill, tourists stopped and asked what the fuss was
about.

"Best party of my life!" yelped one toker to a bystander.

Kingston's Terry Sauve didn't mind the blunt brigade as they passed
by his kids. It's all part of their education, he says.

"They learn about it in school ... at some point, they'll make their
own choice."

Son Cale wasn't a fan, however: "They smelled."