UP IN SMOKE: POT USERS BLAZE A TRAIL

City Hall was the scene of a marijuana smoke out over the weekend as 300
users lit up to celebrate Canabian Day.

Hamilton police watched from a distance Saturday while protesters -- most
of them in their late teens and early 20s -- passed around joints, pipes
and bongs.

Despite earlier warnings from police of swift arrests of anyone caught with
marijuana, officers barely acknowledged the trafficking of pot happening
right in front of them.

"I have an operational plan and I'm following it and it's working well,"
said Superintendent Glyn Wide. "I'm not interested in any altercation here
today. We're just making sure people are going to protest safely and
without any injury."

Keynote speaker and pot activist David Malmo Levine handed out more than
half an ounce of unpressed powder bubble hashish -- worth about $1,000 --
to protesters who sat cross-legged in circles, pipes and bongs in hand.
Bongs are specialized pot-smoking devices.

The free-pot smoke-out coincided with the first anniversary of the opening
of Up in Smoke, the city's first marijuana cafe.

Protesters gathered at Ferguson Station around noon, waving Canadian flags,
the maple leaf replaced with a cannabis leaf, and held up signs in support
of decriminalizing marijuana. "Honk if you blaze," read one sign, "Free
weed," read another.

The crowd hollered wildly as dozens of drivers making their way along King
Street honked their horns in support, which also drew attention to British
Columbia's "Prince of Pot," Marc Emery.

Canadian authorities arrested Emery earlier this month at the request of
the U.S. government, which is seeking to extradite him to face charges
related to the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail.

Levine, 34, said it's up to Canadians to set a good example when it comes
to leading the way to decriminalizing marijuana.

"It should be as legal as peppermint. Any drug can be used or misused,"
said Levine, who took his fight to decriminalize marijuana to the Supreme
Court of Canada in 2003. A 6-3 decision upheld a federal law banning
possession of small amounts of pot as well as the law prohibiting
possession for trafficking.

Wide refused to say how many police were at the protest, but half a dozen
uniformed officers patrolled the area on foot and on bikes. Protesters
could be seen smoking joints and the smell of marijuana hung over the area.

Cafe owner Chris Goodwin said support for the protest from passersby speaks
to the growing tolerance for marijuana use.

"I believe we live in a just society where we're allowed to use our civil
rights and Charter rights to protest," he said.

Goodwin handed out 300 joints at Up in Smoke and filled dozens of pipes and
bongs on the condition users smoke the weed at the protest. He said
marching to City Hall sends a message that it's up to municipal leaders to
make marijuana use the lowest priority when it comes to cracking down on users.

Hamilton Mayor Larry Di Ianni said he wasn't pleased protesters lit up at
City Hall.

"It's too bad they would use our city and our City Hall to try to draw
national and local attention to their cause. The best thing would be to
ignore them."

Hamilton resident Joe Brown couldn't help but notice the protest and the
odour of pot. He and his wife ate lunch and watched the protest from the
patio of Black Forest Inn.

"I'm not upset by (the protest). We're better off to just legalize
marijuana and save all the problems that go with it."

Dan Urquhart, 21, drove in from St. Catharines to show his support. "We're
a peaceful culture and believe in equal rights. Canadians believe in
democratic and peaceful change."