PARK MAY GO TO POT AUGUST 30

Steven Bacon wants Toronto's tokers to smoke up and be proud. He's
inviting pot enthusiasts to what he hopes will be a massive smoke-in
scheduled for a west-end park later this month.

While freely puffing a sizable spliff at Queen and John Sts.
yesterday, the 48-year-old couldn't help but speak fondly of the sweet
leaf while handing out flyers advertising the Cannabian Day rally --
slated for Aug. 30 at Trinity Bellwoods Park. "I want the four million
Canadians that are smoking marijuana to come out of the closet," Bacon
said.

Calling themselves Cannabis Canada, members of the the group yesterday
hoped the rally -- organized in conjunction with the Ontario Marijuana
Party -- will help to lift stigmas associated with the herb by
comparing it to other legal vices.

Since May 16, when an Ontario Superior Court justice in Windsor upheld
an overturned conviction of a youth caught with less than 30 grams of
pot, Canada's weed laws have been up in the air, with the courts and
Parliament yet to clarify them.

Toronto police chief Julian Fantino announced soon after that cops
will seize pot, regardless of the amount, but that officers will not
be laying charges of simple possession.

Bacon said he isn't encouraging pot smokers to start lighting up
wherever they please, but to use discretion.