WEEDSTOCK SEEKS NORTHERN EXPOSURE

Festival Moves Up To Canada

Weedstock is going north of the border this summer to escape the legal
runaround in Sauk County.

The pro-marijuana rally will join forces with the Planetary Pride Hempfest
in Ophir, Ontario, from Aug. 22 to 24. Ophir is located outside Sault Ste.
Marie, just north of the Canadian border above the upper peninsula of Michigan.

With Weedstock's court case still under appeal, its director, Ben Masel,
said the group decided to take the event to a place where the government
isn't cracking down so hard on marijuana. Under some circumstances, it is
presently legal to smoke marijuana in Ontario; the law there is being
re-evaluated.

"They still have freedom of assembly in Canada," Masel said.

Sheriff's deputies stopped the 2000 Weedstock because organizers did not
obtain a permit for the event in Fairfield, Wis. The Sauk County's
ordinance governs open-air assemblies.

Masel argues the permit process denied his right of free speech.

When authorities arrived at Weedstock 2000, most attendees left without
incident. However, about a dozen participants, including Masel, were
arrested for contempt of court or resisting arrest.

Masel contested the ordinance, and a Columbia County circuit judge ruled
for Sauk County in 2002. Masel has appealed. His attorney, Jeff Scott
Olson, told a state appeals court in February that the Sauk County law
governing large gatherings was subjectively used to "censor" the event.

Lower penalties: Canada is a more cannabis-friendly country than the United
States, advocates say. The northern country's justice minister recently
introduced legislation to ease its marijuana laws. Punishment for
possession of the drug would be reduced to something on par with a traffic
ticket, but penalties would increase for growing and trafficking the drug.

The Canadian bill would not legalize or increase production of marijuana.
It would, however, decrease penalties for possession of small amounts of
the drug.

"Our message to Canadians and especially to our young people is clear:
Marijuana is harmful and it will remain illegal," said Canadian Justice
Minister Martin Cauchon, who introduced the legislation.

Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolin said Canada doesn't intend for its
potential new policy to clash with the United States' stricter anti-drug
position.

He said he hopes that it will open up the line of dialogue between the two
countries on the subject.

A Madison Police Department spokeswoman says it's unlikely Canada will
become the next great supplier of contraband to the United States.

"If it has an effect, it'll be a slight one, because we're so far from
Canada, actually," Officer Jennifer Krueger said. "I don't think it'll
increase the amount of marijuana we see."

The source of production won't switch sides, from Mexico to Canada, she
said. Weed coming into Wisconsin from Canada still would have to either
cross Lake Superior or enter through a bordering state.

Mexican marijuana has to travel much farther, she said, but
"decriminalizing and producing are two different things. With any hopes
we'd see a reduction, because people would go to Canada" to smoke it.

Masel has other hopes: "I'm hoping that seeing the roof not cave in in
Canada will make it an easier sell."