HASH MOB SMOKES UP DUNDAS SQUARE

Madd chronic and I arrive for our first officially announced Out
Yourself Smoke Out, a 420-joint circle at 4:20 pm on April 20.

Founder of the Toronto Hash Mob (THM), Madd Chronic once dreamed of
smoking at the centre of the universe, wherever that is. But we've
settled on Dundas Square and have already notified police and square
management that this is no festival, it's a protest.

No sound system, no booths selling stuff, no permit needed. Madd
Chronic howls when I tell him I identified my occupation as "coach" of
the THM on the Toronto Police Service's notice of demonstration form.

But it's Madd Chronic who provides the coaching when we arrive to the
throng of 5-0s waiting for us in the square.

"Dude, stay on the sidewalk," he says. "They can't kick us off the
sidewalk." Great thinking!

The bong-hitting barker in me begins shouting, "We're here! We're
high! Get used to it!" And "If you love marijuana, let me hear you say
420!" Our cannabis cannon will get sparked at 4:20 exactly to
symbolize the grandiosity of the day. We fire up some joints until
then to get things going, and people begin to gather.

Eventually, stoners take over tables, creating an outdoor cannabis
cafe. Plenty of folks watch the spectacle from the sidelines. Only the
daring come forward. As the exuberant crowd swells, an officer
approaches and tells us he doesn't want to arrest anyone if we remain
peaceful. Which is our goal. No jail cell today.

Gauging advance numbers for our brazen bong-hitting event was
difficult. We know that plenty of potheads decry our antics as "show
up to get arrested."

Their howls even reach lawyer Alan Young, who asked us a while ago if
we could lose the Hash Mob name and become a Pot Collective.

Sure enough, owners of pot cafes and head shops aren't here with us.
They're worried about blowback. There's a big fear that our
unsanctioned actions will feed bathhouse-style raids. Some cafe owners
even beg us not to come back to their establishments post-rally.

They're not the only folks who misunderstand us. The pols, too, it
seems, keep missing our point. Federal Minister of Justice Rob
Nicholson is quoted the next day saying Conservatives have no interest
in decriminalizing doobies. Wow, this fires me up. We didn't mention
"decrim." We're demanding legalization and a Cannabis Control Board of
Ontario. What's with him?

Only lore and maybe a book or movie deal will determine the Hash Mob's
future counterculture mythology. But next move is a THM honour guard
for parade marshal Marc Emery at Toronto's Global Marijuana March,
Saturday, May 5. Watch for us.