MARCHERS WANT TO SEE LAWS ON MARIJUANA GO UP IN SMOKE

Protesters marched along Penticton's Main Street Saturday afternoon,
demanding the federal government relax laws on marijuana use.

One or two could be seen lighting up, sending the smell of cannabis
wafting through the air as about 30 placard-bearers made their way to
MP Stockwell Day's office. There, they lined both sides of the road
as motorists passed by, some honking their horns in support.

Amanda Stewart, who got the protest rolling, said many people in the
Okanagan want the government to pass more-liberal laws with respect
to marijuana.

"I don't pretend to have a solution, but the way we're going now
isn't working," she said.

Decriminalizing what she calls "a herb" would reduce policing,
judiciary and prison costs, which are all borne by Canadian
taxpayers, she said. It would also cut down on hardships, such as
families breaking up, along with the strain on social services that
can result from people being convicted for using or possessing marijuana.

Those relying on marijuana for medicinal purposes often end up
suffering because they have difficulty acquiring it on a regular
basis under current laws.

The theory that marijuana is a "gateway drug" leading people to
harder drugs and to a life of crime fuelled by their addiction
doesn't wash with Stewart.

"Most of those studies don't look at alcohol, tobacco or prescription
drugs," she said. "They're ignoring that they are the drugs that
people try before (marijuana)."

Stewart noted that while people with addictive personalities must
distance themselves from these types of substances, she knows no one
who has succumbed to addiction and experienced the downward spiral
that is the primary argument in the gateway theory.

Making marijuana legal would also remove it from the hands of drug
dealers and organized crime syndicates in the "black market economy," she said.

Stewart and her co-marchers are planning to collect signatures asking
for a change in marijuana legislation and then send them to Prime
Minister Stephen Harper for his consideration, although she isn't
optimistic change will occur under his Conservative government.

"I think our best chance to change laws is to vote in candidates who
put this in their platform," she said.