PEACEFUL POT SUPPORTERS MARCH FOR MARIJUANA

The funnel cakes were definitely a hit.

It was no surprise that plates of deep-fried dough sprinkled with
white icing sugar became immensely popular at a festival attended by
25,000 pot enthusiasts who spent the day smoking joints on the lawn at
Queen's Park.

Especially since 20,000 of them worked up an appetite while parading
across downtown streets with banners that demanded better access to
medical marijuana or the decriminalization of weed itself.

As teenagers lit up among university students and some adults,
organizer Gabe Simms called the annual event a celebration of Canada's
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"People here are from all walks of life," Simms said, "and whether
they be lawyers or students, in some cases youth, they all at the end
of the day believe Canada has to make some changes regarding the
prohibition (of marijuana) and the difficulty for sick people to have
access to medical marijuana."

He cited a recent Ontario Superior Court ruling that found the federal
medical marijuana program unconstitutional because patients are
largely prevented from legally accessing the drugs they need.