CANADIANS PROTEST FOR POT LEGALIZATION

TORONTO -- Thousands of people anxiously awaiting changes to Canada's
marijuana laws marched Saturday in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver in
support of the drug's decriminalization. Around 2,000 Toronto supporters
enjoyed a bit of the green stuff at Queen's Park as part of the annual
global Million Marijuana March.

"We're here to celebrate the many successes of the past year, and there have
been many," said Larry Duprey, chairman of the Toronto-area Marijuana Party,
who asked the crowd not to overtly provoke police.

"There's no reason to consume in their faces," he said. "Let's have some
discretion. Let's enjoy the day."

No problems were reported and police presence in the park was low-key.

The celebration comes on the heels of Prime Minister Jean Chretien's
announcement that possessing small quantities of marijuana would soon be
decriminalized in Canada.

About 200 protesters also gathered at a downtown Vancouver art gallery and
then marched one block to the British Columbia Supreme Court while a handful
of Vancouver police officers stood watch.

"I'm very optimistic that we'll see the end of pot prohibition within the
next year or two," said Marijuana Party president Marc Emery, who attended
the rally. "We hope that a year from now, this will be a celebration rally."

Steven Bacon, one of the first Canadians to be given federal exemption to
grow and possess weed for medicinal reasons, has high hopes for federal law
changes.

"(The federal government) is between a rock and a hard place," he said in
Toronto, adding decriminalization is a half answer.

"There will be no way for cops to tell the difference from medicinal and
recreational users," said Bacon, who uses pot to control pain and increase
his appetite. "Regulate it and no one would have a problem.
Decriminalization will be a half measure we'll have to live with for a
while."