BC ACTIVIST ARRESTED IN FRONT OF RNC HEADQUARTERS

Pot connoisseur Marc Emery claims pot is already legal in Canada

Marc Emery's first trip to Newfoundland included an involuntary stop at
police headquarters. He was released twenty minutes later, but his water
pipe stayed for an extended visit. Marijuana activist Marc Emery stood in
front of Royal Newfoundland Constabulary headquarters this past Saturday and
took a bong hit that he hopes will forever alter the state of drug laws in
this province.

On the seventh stop on his trans-Canada Summer of Legalization Tour, Emery
had kind words for the crowd that showed up between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm. His
mission is to prove Canadians have had the right to smoke dope, thanks to a
series of decisions in Ontario courts.

A videographer who follows Emery around the country said the St. John's
rally is the largest he's seen yet, out-numbering crowds in cities like
Toronto and Winnipeg. The crowd grew and shrank in size as the event
progressed, ranging in number from about 40 to 75.

After a 20-minute speech, Emery sparked a lighter and sucked back a bowl at
precisely 4:20 pm, as supporters encircled him and sang O Canada and kept
approaching police officers at bay. The crowd ignored an officer's shouts of
"you can be arrested for obstruction, obstruction is a crime" until Emery
looked upward and exhaled a large plume of sweet-smelling smoke.

At 4:21, the crowd allowed police officers through. An officer advised Emery
he was under arrest for possession of an illegal substance.

No protestors were charged with obstruction.

Emery politely handed his 18 inch hand-painted glass water pipe -- better
known as a "bong" -- to an officer. Wearing a smile on his face, which
visibly widened as the smoke took its effect, he walked into police
headquarters flanked by police and reporters.

With Emery inside, groups of youth -- many already squinting or red-eyed --
lit up marijuana cigarettes and passed them around. Police spokesperson
Staff Sergeant June Layden says no one but Emery was charged with
possession. She said, to the best of her knowledge, the police had returned
to the building before the youth lit up.

However, a police car and van both made their way through the crowd, and the
heavily-scented clouds of smoke. The protestors politely cleared the way,
but did not -- and were not asked to -- extinguish their joints. Layden says
the available police resources, the effect police intervention might have on
a large number of people and the fact that some people might have wanted to
be placed under arrest to make a point were all taken into consideration.

She says the fact that no one was arrested does not in any way indicate a
change in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary's (RNC) policy that marijuana
is illegal, something Emery disputes.

Ontario Struck Down Pot Law

In a brochure distributed to protestors, Emery outlines his argument that
marijuana is already legal in Canada. In July 2000, the Ontario Court of
Appeal -- the highest court in that province, and the second-highest legal
authority behind the Supreme Court of Canada -- ordered parliament to
re-draft a law to allow chronically ill patients access to medicinal
marijuana within 365 days.

The government introduced regulations to allow access to cannabis, but did
not bring a revised cannabis law before parliament. On February 2, 2003, a
Windsor, Ont. judge ruled a 17-year-old was not guilty of marijuana
possession. The judge ruled the youth could not have committed an offence,
because the marijuana law had lapsed when they government failed to
re-introduce marijuana legislation; in other words, there was no law to
break.

The Ontario Superior Court upheld the ruling, setting a precedent for the
entire province. The Ontario Court of Appeal is reviewing the decision this
August, but their ruling is not expected for several months after.
Presently, police in Ontario are not treating possession of cannabis as a
crime.

"The Court of Appeal decision that made the cannabis possession law an
offence `not known to law' however, makes null and void an aspect of the
CDSA [Controlled Drugs and Substances Act] that is applied all across
Canada," Emery's pamphlet reads.

Outside police headquarters, police spokesperson Layden gave a different
account. She said the arresting officers seized a small amount of a
substance, which will be sent to a laboratory for testing. If the results
indicate it's an "illegal substance," Emery faces the possibility of a
criminal charge.

Asked if "illegal substance" would include marijuana, Layden told a Muse
reporter: "Marijuana is an illegal substance in this country," and the RNC
will treat it that way until a contrary ruling by the Supreme Court of
Canada, or a decision by parliament to amend the CDSA.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Layden said the lab has not yet returned the results
of the analysis. She said Emery is free to leave Newfoundland and Labrador,
but must return for a trial if police decide to charge him. Whether the case
proceeds through the courts is up to crown prosecutors.

After his release, Emery thanked police for their efficient processing of
his case and kind treatment. He hopes the Crown will charge him -- if a
court in this province follows the precedent of the Ontario court and the
ruling stands up on appeal, the pot law will be struck down in Newfoundland
and Labrador.

Smoke-Up Time Significant

Emery's smoke-up time, 4:20, is significant to marijuana smokers around the
world -- many see it as the ideal time to smoke up, after classes and work.
Allegedly invented by a group of 1970s California stoners called "the
Waldos," students who used their daily smoke-up time as a code-word for pot
they could use at school or in front of their parents. Since then, "four
twenty" has become a slang term for marijuana smoking, and April 20 (4/20)
is now considered an unofficial holiday by many in the cannabis
counter-culture.

Four-twenty was just one of many cannabis culture references Emery touched
on in his speeches before and after being arrested. He put forward a
strongly nationalistic view of cannabis smoking, saying that despite being
arrested more than ten times, Canada is still one of the best places in the
world for marijuana consumers.

"I think we're patriotic Canadians," he said to the captivated crowd. "I
know I'm a proud cannabis Canadian."

After most media left, a group of about 25 activists stayed for over an hour
as Emery spoke at length about marijuana activism, pacifism and his business
of selling marijuana seeds through a mail-order company based out of British
Columbia.

He also spoke about a centre he funds, which treats hard-core drug addicts.
It's a shame that too often, policymakers see drug addicts as criminals or
derelicts, rather than victims who need help he said.

He encouraged the men in the audience to be good fathers, saying he
discovered that none of the drug addicts he knew had a positive father
figure in their lives when they were growing up. "Drug addiction takes place
in the wounding of the soul," he said.

Police Actions Called Unpatriotic

Although the protestors did not interfere with the police after Emery smoked
the bong, several youth were visibly angry at the way police handled the
case.

"That was kind of unpatriotic that they arrested him during the singing of O
Canada," said student Jessica Power while she waited for the police to
release Emery.

Emery said his and any other arrest is the fault of Newfoundland's solicitor
general, who has the power to instruct police officers to stop pursuing
marijuana arrests. Police in all of Ontario, Halifax and Saint John, N.B.
are not treating marijuana possession as a crime.

However, the real blame lies with marijuana opponents and lazy
parliamentarians who are afraid to change the law, Emery said. He claims
they have ignored countless studies -- and common sense -- by not legalizing
marijuana but allowing alcohol and tobacco to be bought and consumed.

Marijuana opponents tend to be old and afraid of change, Emery said. He
pointed out that marijuana is already a major part of creative people's
lives, and has been for ages.

"Marijuana smokers are critical thinkers, they question authority, they do
not accept the sad state of war in the world," he said. "Everything that
you're hearing on K-Rock is from pot smokers!"

Going further than some proponents of legalization by stating that it is
perfectly safe to drive a car while stoned, saying he's done it thousands of
times.

"Marijuana does not impede, it does not impair you," he said. "What does
marijuana do? It gives you a sixth sense to your five senses."

As president of the Marijuana Party of British Columbia, which is affiliated
with the Marijuana Party of Canada, Emery encouraged youth to get involved
in politics. Nobody has run for the Marijuana Party in Newfoundland,
something he would like to change.

The traditional parties have failed stoners, said Emery, pointing out that
not a single member of parliament has stood up and asked the solicitor
general of Canada what is so morally wrong with smoking marijuana.

"What I want to know," he said to cheers, "is what's wrong with feeling
good?"