REEFER RAILWAY EYED

Web Site Invites Tokers North As Fake Refugees; Cops See Red

TORONTO -- Organizers of a Canadian pro-marijuana Web site say several
Americans have filed refugee claims here because they're being persecuted
by police for smoking dope in the U.S.

But Canadian cops want a probe into the Underground Reefer Railway site,
which they claim urges Americans to file frivolous refugee claims so they
can stay in Canada and smoke pot where they won't be penalized as in the U.S.

The site urges Americans to illegally enter the country by using phony
identification, hiding themselves in cargo or by paying smugglers, police
say. The Yanks are also promised to be placed in safehouses once they
arrive in Canada.

'Sad State Of Affairs'

"It is a sad state of affairs," said Bruce Miller, of the Police
Association of Ontario. "People are being encouraged to come to Canada for
drug vacations."

Miller said the site should be investigated to determine if any Canadian
laws are being broken.

"We oppose anybody who gives information on how to break our laws," he said.

Tony Cannavino, head of the Canadian Professional Police Association, said
the site will lead to a flood of people coming to Canada to smoke pot.

"We are very concerned about the message this sends," Cannavino said.

"This is not the type of tourists we need."

B.C. site operator David Malmo-Levine said U.S. surfers have thanked him
for detailing how to make refugee claims.

"The marijuana laws in the U.S. are draconian," Malmo-Levine said.

"What people can get away with here is jail time in the U.S."