WELL-KNOWN MARIJUANA ACTIVIST IAN HUNTER DIES

DC Alumni Was "Bright And Gutsy"

On Wednesday, August 14, 2002, Douglas College and the Other Press alumni
Ian Hunter passed away at Kootenay Lake, near Nelson, BC.

Born in New Westminster in 1961, and educated at DC, Hunter was a
well-known marijuana activist who openly challenged BC's marijuana laws.
Hunter has been referred to as a marijuana activist, Reverend of the Church
of the Universe, the High Priest of Pot, and the Hemp Honcho.

In 1994 Hunter helped to co-found HempBC, a hemp shop on Hastings Street in
downtown Vancouver, with Marc Emery. A little while later he moved to
Victoria and opened The Sacred Herb, another well-known hemp shop, and
became a Reverend of The Church of the Universe.

The Church of the Universe is a religion that describes marijuana as a
sacrament and, as the declaration on their website at states, "Church
members are required to use God's Tree of Life (cannabis, marijuana) as a
sacrament in their lives and worship. It is required in their search for an
understanding of their spirituality and connection with Almighty God."

In a speech that Hunter gave in Gastown in 1996, he spoke about the
necessity for the legalization of marijuana.

"Prohibition leads to harder drugs... prohibition leads to death," he said.

In 1998, Hunter sold The Sacred Herb, and according to Arthur Hanks, who
met Hunter while working at the Other Press in 1997, it was "a result of
city council's pressure."

In court on drug-related charges that same year, Hunter represented himself
and argued that since the Constitution recognizes God, and God created
marijuana plants, that anti-marijuana laws should be considered
unconstitutional.

Hunter then moved to Nelson and began referring to himself as a "Former
Reverend of the Church of the Universe."

Former HempBC coworker Mosse recalls how he met Hunter around 1994.

"I was reading an article on industrial hemp, and Hunter was mentioned as a
contact. I thought, "I have to get involved--save the planet," so I called
him up. He had me organizing his files, and the next thing I knew I was
working for HempBC. He was growing these huge sideburns. He was like a
jester--but there was this message underneath."

Hanks says, "Ian was a very bright and gutsy spokesperson," and that "it
was [Ian's] kind of public pressure that helped start Canada on the road to
reforming our cannabis laws."

Hanks recalls that at the hemp symposium held in 1998, he "made a comment
to Ian about wanting a good stiff drink... [Ian] couldn't believe that I
wanted to drink whiskey more than wanting to smoke. To each his own."

On August 14, Ian Hunter's body was found floating beside a small powerboat
in Kootenay Lake. The RCMP reported accidental drowning. He was 41 years old.

For more insight into Ian Hunter's life and legacy, see "Ian in Memoriam"
in the Features section of this issue.