Pubdate: Tue, 14 Mar 2017 Source: Lethbridge Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2017 The Lethbridge Herald Contact: http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/239 Author: Tijana Martin Page: A3 SOWING THE SEEDS OF POT LEGALIZATION Cannabis Crusader stops in Lethbridge This spring, cannabis plants may start appearing in places you'd least expect. And it might be because of Dana Larsen's Overgrow Canada campaign. On Monday night, the cannabis expert, activist and author spoke in Lethbridge for the first time as part of his Overgrow Canada Tour. The event took place at Moose Hall and attendees were given 100 free cannabis seeds to plant. "Lethbridge has been somewhat excluded from these types of events in the past, just being a smaller city kind of off the beaten track, and I feel it's important to get this tour here to Lethbridge, to get the exposure to see that (marijuana) is here in Lethbridge as much as it is everywhere else in Canada, and the city needs to embrace that," said local event host Austin Moloughney. Last year, Larsen travelled to more than 20 cities for his first tour and over 2.3 million free cannabis seeds were given to Canadians. He is currently facing charges after he was arrested in Calgary for trafficking cannabis seeds, however, that's the only legal issue he's facing as part of his campaign. He is still out on bail and is scheduled for a court hearing in May. He said he thinks it's absurd that they may take him to trial, considering there's at least a dozen places to buy marijuana seeds in Calgary over the counter and hundreds more across Canada. "Especially when we're in the middle of a judicial crisis in Canada. In Alberta alone, over 200 charges have been dropped this year over serious criminal cases. If that's the case, how can they make room for someone who is giving away low THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis seeds?" he asked. "It really seems like a waste of precious court resources." But those charges aren't stopping him, although he admits he's nervous for his upcoming stop in Calgary in April. This year he's aiming to give away five million free seeds that he hopes will be planted this spring. "The idea is for people to take the seeds that I am giving out and to grow them in public places," said Larsen. "It's part of a civil disobedience campaign that has been going on for 20 years now and that I think is what has brought us to the verge of legalization, beginning with bongs and pipes and seed banks, cannabis rallies and moving on to dispensaries." He wants to normalize growing cannabis publicly. "The fact is, there's hundreds of plants that grow all over the place that are toxic and dangerous if you were to consume them, but we don't worry about that and we shouldn't be worrying about cannabis either," he said. "I want to live in a Canada where you walk down the street and you see a cannabis plant growing in someone's yard, or by the side of the road and it's not a big deal because you see ten or 20 of them already that day, like any other plant." Last August, the federal government announced that authorized medical marijuanapatients could grow their own cannabis if they register with Health Canada, or designate another adult to grow it for them. But the amount they can grow is limited. It's illegal for everyone else, and Larsen's website shares some of the risks involved in growing marijuana plants. The most severe of which states that growing six or more plants with the intent to share or sell can qualify for a mandatory jail sentence. There's no medical marijuana dispensaries in Lethbridge, but Larsen was scheduled to discuss how to go about opening one. He also shared his opinion on what's coming for legalization. "We are moving towards legalization, not by waiting for Trudeau, but by making it happen in cities and towns across the country through activism and civil disobedience," said Larsen. "I think legalization is still a long ways away. I think it's going to be several years before we are able to purchase cannabis in a store that has Trudeau's stamp of approval and it's going to be several years after that until where we really have a situation where cannabis users have equal rights to alcohol users in Canada," he said. "The legalization they have in mind is not really an end to cannabis prohibition, it's more just a different form of cannabis prohibition and one that we're going to have to keep fighting against." Those who were unable to attend can request free seeds by visiting his website at www.overgrowcanada.com . - --- MAP posted-by: Matt