BC CULTURE: PLEASE SMOKE POT BEFORE YOU READ THIS ARTICLE!

Vancouver pot smokers gathered on Canada Day for a patriotic smoke-in. They
took over the lawn at the art gallery for a rally that was remarkably
different from other demonstrations held here in recent months.

There was the standard political demand (ie. legalise marijuana), but there
was no economic critique, no objections to capitalism, globalisation or
social inequality. Rather than criticise the current economic system, pot
entrepreneurs were simply demanding that they be acknowledged as fully
fledged, due paying members of the free market.

Many in the crowd of approximately 400 made the Canadian flag a part of
their costumes, celebrating identities as Canadians and as pot smokers.
There was lots of fun - everybody was tokin', talkin' and chillin'. The
crowd was diverse; teenagers with wild hair shared joints and a laugh with
adults dressed in GAP attire.

A friendly vibe of tolerance and acceptance filled the air along with a
sweet smell.

While the crowd probably represented a diversity of political opinions as
well as dress, the message of the rally was clear: pot dealers, growers and
users are Canadians too, and we want our passion - smoking weed - to be
sanctioned by the state.

Gordon Campbell and Jean Chretien, listen up: we demand our lifestyle be
legitimised as a legal consumer choice.

Speakers made a point of addressing the political and social ramifications
of keeping pot illegal, but most of the emphasis was on having a good time
and getting high, and there's nothing wrong with that. Bands played, people
danced, and merchants hawked their wares.

Dealers wandered through the masses, openly showing off their selection of
herbs, while artisans offered an incredible array of smoking paraphernalia.
A woman with pink hair, dressed in a purple cowgirl outfit, carried a
basket with a sign saying $5 a joint.

People willingly let themselves be videotaped holding mega-ounces of BC's
finest for sale.

Unlike other art gallery events, the police were almost nowhere to be seen.
The few uniformed officers that were there hung out across the street
chatting among themselves, leaning against the wall. They looked like they
might have been enjoying a little second hand smoke exposure.

If there were any undercovers in the crowd, they certainly were not here to
shut down illicit commerce.

One of the side effects of the burgeoning pot culture has been the
neutering of marijuana as a symbol of rebellion.

It's practically a prescription drug, for heaven's sake, and some
politicians from across the left-right spectrum are starting to openly
endorse decriminalisation - and in some cases, outright legalisation.

Estimates put the value of the marijuana industry to the B.C. economy at
anywhere between $2 billion and $10 billion, making it one of B.C.'s top
three industries. A significant amount of that money circulates in the
'legitimate' economy through the purchase of hydroponics equipment,
gardening supplies, hydro electricity, zip lock baggies and other legal
consumables. Given the depressed nature of B.C.'s forestry and tourism, pot
might very well be at the top of B.C.'s economic leaderboard. It is very
possible that pot is propping up the B.C. economy, preventing it from
taking on third world status.

The establishment is surely profiting from marijuana.

With pot advocates only demanding that they be admitted out of the
counter-culture and into mainstream capitalism, marijuana is not a threat
to our society's ruling structures. It seems pretty obvious that pot would
already be legal in Canada (especially in B.C.), except that we have to
live next door to those crazy Americans. It is clear that it is past time
to end the hypocrisy. Anti-pot laws only serve as harassment tools,
deployed at the whims of government and police, so the sooner pot is
legalised, the better.

There is something really depressing, however, about the idea of having to
go into the Pacific Centre for a dime bag. They don't let teenagers with
wild hair hang out in front of the GAP store there.