POT ACTIVISTS TOKE UP TO FIGHT PROPOSED NEW DRUG LAWS

Pro-marijuana activists marched Saturday in downtown Vancouver to
enjoy some 'wacky tobbaccy' and protest Canada's drug laws.

Led by organizers on bullhorns and 'Herb,' a larger-than-life
marijuana leaf mascot, about 300 pro-pot citizens began exhaling
plumes of smoke at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

"I'm out of the closet," Herb said while blasting his lungs with a joint.

The group then marched to the Vancouver Convention Centre, where the
Liberal Party of Canada was meeting.

"I hope [Liberal leader] Michael Ignatieff pays attention to the
polls," said event organizer Jacob Hunter, a pro-cannabis activist.

Hunter was referring to a recent Angus Reid Strategies poll that 65
per cent of British Columbians support legalizing marijuana to curb
violence related to the drug trade.

A number of signs at the march endorsed legalizing marijuana for the
same reason.

Last week, in an effort to scale back organized crime, Mexico's
legislature passed a law allowing Mexicans to carry small amounts of
the herb, but in Canada it is still illegal to be in possession of
any amount of reefer.

"It's amazing this law still exists," Hunter said.

He said the activists are asking the Liberals not to support Bill
C-15, new legislation proposed by Stephen Harper's Conservatives that
Hunter said could mean anyone caught growing just one dope plant
could go to jail for at least six months.

Demonstrators like Dave Douglas believe there are better alternatives
to harsher penalties and held a sign reading 'Tax Pot.'

"Why not make some money off it just like alcohol and tobacco? Funds
can go to health care," Douglas said.

Green Party members were handing out 'End Drug Prohibition' leaflets.

The march was part of a worldwide event dubbed The Global Marijuana
March, which in Toronto has drawn tens of thousands of people in recent years.

"We're still building up the Vancouver march," Hunter said.