|
| quote: | Originally posted by Skipper
Give me a break.
with your logic, not a single country in the world is a free country...we fare quite better than many other places.
I can't stand ungratefulness.
Of course you used this thread about the docks to make a jab at our country. I'm totally shocked. |
its funny you say that... because
| quote: | Two Arrested at Pro-Marijuana Rally in Toronto
Posted by CN Staff on August 21, 2004 at 16:06:43 PT
By The Canadian Press
Source: Canadian Press
Toronto -- A marijuana protest turned nasty Saturday when at least two people were detained during scuffles with city police on a park lawn near the provincial legislature.
The dustup started after police -- accompanied by municipal bylaw officers and parks officials -- shut down the Canabian Day festival, a pro-pot rally when Toronto organizers failed to produce the necessary permits and insurance.
"The major issue is the fact that we couldn't get any insurance," said organizer Marko Ivancicevic.
"Basically, the last two years we've tried to get the (event) insurance but they keep denying us because it is a marijuana-based event."
Several hundred demonstrators were barred from accessing a rented stage and using any sound equipment, including microphones and speakers, pulling the plug on a scheduled concert by six pro-marijuana bands.
Tempers flared when a young male had his glasses smashed as he was restrained by officers after propping a protest sign reading, Legalize It and Weed My Lips, against a statue of King Edward.
"As far as I know, my friend was just standing there holding a sign, and then next thing I know, the cops are putting him in the back of a paddy wagon," said Dan Adams.
"He didn't do anything."
A second protester, also holding a placard, tripped over a skateboard as he was put into a nearby cruiser, prompting jeers from the crowd.
No names were released and it was not known if any charges were laid.
Another demonstrator, Dominick Cramer _ who runs the non-profit Toronto Compassion Centre, which provides therapeutic marijuana to people who are sick _ was warned by police that he too could face arrest after he got into a shouting match with officers.
"This is ridiculous," Cramer said.
"The cops for some reason decided to get violent and threatening kids that were just holding a sign ... He wasn't smoking up, he was just holding a sign."
Police spokesman Sgt. Joseph Gataveckas said he wasn't aware of any arrests Saturday.
"Like any protest, (officers are) there to keep the peace and to make sure that no one breaks the law," Gataveckas added.
Similar protests were also slated for Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
Statistics Canada reported last month that about three million Canadians, or 12.2 per cent, used cannabis at least once in the last year, with the highest rates of use among teens.
Prime Minister Paul Martin has promised to introduce legislation to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of the drug.
The Toronto arrests, however, only emboldened protesters who flagrantly lit joints and passed out "chronic candy."
Others -- like Steven Bacon, a medical marijuana user -- wore his Health Canada permit on is forehead as he clung to a live pot plant and addressed the crowd.
Bacon, who suffers from spinal cord and digestive problems, likened the Toronto arrests to the recent sentencing of another marijuana advocate in Saskatchewan.
Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party and founder of Cannabis Culture magazine, was sentenced Thursday to three months in jail after pleading guilty to passing a joint to a supporter last March.
"Mark is being made an example of by the justice system," Bacon told the crowd. "They've put him in jail for 90 days, for God's sakes."
|
___________________
| quote: | Originally posted by jester
Everything in this country is illegal. |
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery…" Winston Churchill
"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law" - Winston Churchill
|
