Pubdate: Fri, 21 Apr 2006
Source: Red Deer Advocate (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 Red Deer Advocate
Contact:  http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2492
Author: Daniel Macisaac, staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

POT PROTEST LOSING STEAM?

Red Deer pot smokers, not generally known for their  punctuality, made
an extra effort to arrive at City  Hall Park on time on Thursday for
what turned out to be  a scaled-down version of the annual
pro-marijuana  rally.

The 420 rally, pronounced four-20, is held in cities  around North
America at 4:20 p.m. on the 20th day of  the fourth month, April 20.
It typically takes the form  of a celebratory marijuana gathering
designed to show a  community presence as well as support for the 
decriminalization of pot smoking and possession of  small amounts of
marijuana.

"It's all about coming down to show your support for a  peaceful
protest to get a plant legalized," said Chad  Curtis, 22. "It's not a
drug that they could ever  bottle in a lab, but it is one with lots of
benefits  and one that the government could cash in on."

But the gatherings can also take on a confrontational  air, and a
heavy police presence at last year's Red  Deer rally combined with
flagrant joint-smoking  resulted in some 15 arrests and a smaller
event this  time around. There were only about 250 people, mainly 
youths, gathered in City Hall Park on Thursday,  compared with some
400 in 2005.

Curtis was arrested and fined $150 for openly smoking  at the 2000
rally, and he said that while he continues  to come back every year,
he no longer "participates" in  the rally by smoking in public.

Many others appeared to feel the same way, as there was  far less
joint-smoking at Thursday's event and only a  smattering of applause
as the clock struck 4:20. And,  according to RCMP Cpl. Sandy Andrews,
by about 6 p.m.  there had been only five charges of possession of a 
controlled substance laid as well as a number of "no  case seizure"
confiscations. Though, she warned, "the  night's still young."

That was, perhaps in part, because the "rally" was not  only limited
to City Hall Park aE" or at least not in  spirit. A number of
protesters said they had "smoked  up" before showing up, and there
were reports of  smaller gatherings around the city. Indeed, besides
the  obvious presence of commissionaires and uniformed RCMP  officers
outside City Hall, there were also RCMP dog  teams, plain-clothes
teams and GIS officers (general  investigation officers) patrolling
outside the park.

Inside, meanwhile, it was all garlands of (plastic)  marijuana leaves,
hula-hoops and hacky sacks and small  groups of friends, including
24-year-old David  Kokotailo, sitting or mingling in the quickly
thinning  crowd. And then there were Hempnstuf head shop flyers  and
Frisbees, too, courtesy of Lyndon Nygaard, who took  the opportunity
to do some promotional work for the Red  Deer store where he works as
manager.

Nygaard was among those who felt the police presence  put a damper on
the day, and added he'd like to see  more of an organized rally in
future aE" something  along the lines of that in his native Winnipeg,
which  comes complete with a city permit, public speakers and  bands.

Curtis, on the other hand, was among those happy to see  a 420 at all
in Red Deer. "It's not an organized event;  it's just a number on the
calendar," he said. "But  people still show up aE" because they can."

As to the significance of that number, currently the  most widely
accepted theory is that it stems from the  early 1970s and a group of
California high school  students, who would regularly meet after
classes at  4:20 p.m. to smoke marijuana near a local water tower.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin