CITY DENIES POT FESTIVAL ITS PATCH OF GRASS

Proponents of legalizing marijuana are fuming over the city's refusal
to allow them to celebrate in a Toronto park after their annual pot
parade.

"I'm very upset. We've been debating this stuff online for days. We're
talking about 40,000 people that want to advocate on their point of
view," says Chris Goodwin, who heads up the Hash Mob.

The group will take part in the Global Marijuana March, scheduled for
May 7 in Toronto.

In past years, participants gathered after the parade at Queen's Park
for the Freedom Festival. This year, organizers had lined up 100
musicians, artists and speakers as well as food and product vendors.

"Instead of peacefully marching, we might try to sit-in at Yorkville,"
said Goodwin. "There has to be some push back on our part."

Organizers were told in January that the festival had outgrown the
park on the north side of the Legislature.

"The park was damaged and overwhelmed. There were people hurt. There
was broken glass, bottles being thrown," Richard Ubbens, the city's
parks director, said of last year's event. "There were lots of
different issues. And illegal substance abuse."

The group started talks with the parks division that oversees Toronto
Island, but were told last week the event couldn't be held there.

"We're not trying to shut it down," said Ubbens. "This is a huge
crowd. They would have to have much better control over persons using
the venue."

But organizers say they were in talks with the city last October and
it shouldn't have taken the parks department this long to get back to
them.

The event is planned a year in advance and "it was irresponsible for
us not to notify our vendors and suppliers. It's bigger than just us."
said the festival's Gabriel Simms.

The march -- up University Ave., across Bloor St., down Yonge St. and
back to the park via Wellesley St. -- will go ahead as planned. Simms
is still working with the city and hopes they will find another venue.