Monday's Nanaimo event announced on social media only hours before it occurred It's perhaps fitting that the history of yesterday's celebration of marijuana culture has somewhat hazy origins. April 20, or 420 as it is commonly known, has for decades been the appointed day for marijuana activists and enthusiasts alike to gather together. A variety of theories have been floated over the years regarding the choice of that date. One theory claims it goes back to the 1970s when a group of teenagers in Marin County, Calif., would meet up at 4:20 p.m. after school to pass the joint and then go roaming in search of a fabled abandoned pot field in the adjacent hills. [continues 338 words]
New Film on Legalization Advocate Marc Emery Is, Like the Man Himself, Not Without Its Controversy It's fitting that a documentary on a figure as controversial as self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery should be subject to some controversy itself. At its core, Citizen Marc wrestles not only with the topic of Emery's legal troubles - the pot activist recently served four years in a U.S. prison for "conspiracy to manufacture marijuana" - but also takes on the complexity of the man himself, who has arguably been the single most significant figure in the fight for marijuana legalization in recent history. [continues 492 words]
Local medical marijuana activists have mixed feelings about proposed changes to the federal government's medicinal pot system. Activists opposed to the changes, set to take place next year, staged a nationwide protest on Thursday. However other local advocates say the proposed changes aren't necessarily a bad thing as long as patients with medical marijuana prescriptions are guaranteed access. There are currently 13,362 British Columbians with medical marijuana prescriptions, according to Health Canada. Under the current system, patients can grow their own marijuana, or purchase it from a designated grower, or from Health Canada. [continues 315 words]
