cannabisnews.com: Newfoundland Has Biggest Rally, Shortest Bust Newfoundland Has Biggest Rally, Shortest Bust Posted by CN Staff on July 27, 2003 at 18:17:49 PT By Dana Larsen Source: Cannabis Culture Marc Emery held for only 4 hours, police unsure whether to lay charges. The "Summer of Legalization" tour had the biggest rally so far in St John's, Newfoundland, on Saturday, July 26. Over 200 people attended to support Cannabis Culture publisher Marc Emery as he went through the now familiar routine of speaking, toking and then being arrested for possession. The smoke-in was the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary HQ on Parade Street in St John's. This is the local St John's police, not the RCMP."A large media contingent was there," explained Emery in a posting to the Cannabis Culture web forums. "The crowd swelled up right to 4:20 pm, when I urged everyone to sing Oh, Canada! with me. I lit up at the end and the police did move in pretty quickly, but politely."Indeed, Emery has repeatedly noted that at each of his four arrests so far during the tour, police have always been polite and considerate. However, unlike the other arrests, this one involved no actual jail time at all."Much to my surprise, there was no prison cell with this arrest," explained Emery, "nor was I booked. I did hand over a gram of marijuana just to make sure they charged me. I have to go back to the station Sunday and be interviewed by the 'Drug Squad' of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. The police said they will likely recommend a charge of possession of marijuana be laid, 'but that is up to the crown attorney to decide,' they added."Each of the arrests so far has involved less jail time. With his first bust in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Emery was held overnight. At his second arrest in Regina, Saskatchewan, Emery was held for about six hours, being released late in the evening after his arrest. In Moncton, New Brunswick, Emery was held for about four hours. In St John's, Emery was detained for an even shorter period."They released me ten minutes after arrest, much to my genuine surprise, with the provison I show up tomorrow to be further interviewed by the drug squad officer in charge. At that point they would or would not recommend charges be laid, and then the crown attorney would get the final say."Everyone was very polite," added Emery, "and some of the police officers expressed some degree of admiration. I know that police officers are reading these reports, so I don't want to embarass anyone by quoting them, but lets say the police here were gentlemanly and decent, with some positive remarks."As he was released so quickly, Emery went back to the rally, still on police property. "40 or so people were there still, so we spoke together and I to the media for another hour. The police eventually came out, but not to shoo us away. In fact, they said we were welcome to congragate there and continue 'as long as no one is smoking pot' which we weren't since we were all caught up in the discussion and I never thought about it."On Sunday Emery went to the police station as they had requested. "No one from the drug section was there," said Emery, "so they asked me to come back tomorrow." Cannabis confusion "I get the sense that there is confusion about the status of the law here in Newfoundland," added Emery, "and the news coverage so far has been helpful in disseminating the correct information regarding the 'marijuana possession is not an offense known unto law' statement by the Ontario Court of Appeal, further validation by the Rogin decision (Superior Court of Ontario) and provincial court decisions in St. John (New Brunswick), Summerside (PEI) and Halifax (Nova Scotia)."Yet the confusion has spread further than Newfoundland. RCMP in Charlottetown, PEI, issued a statement on Thursday, July 24, that said they would still be making marijuana possession busts despite having allowed Emery to have his toke-in at their police headquarters without and police interference."Charlottetown city police want to make it clear that uniform members will continue to deal with possession of cannabis occurrences," said Charlottetown Deputy Police Chief Richard Collins in a news release. "And in no way does the incident of July 23, 2003 [Emery's rally], indicate that the possession of marijuana is recognized by our department as being legal."The news releases claimes they didn't arrest Emery while he did bong-hits at their headquarters "due to internal and external circumstances and the time frame over which the incident unfolded."However, the police media release also explained that they were indeed changing the way they were dealing with marijuana. "As an interim measure, Charlottetown city police will continue to investigate, document and seize cannabis and maintain continuity of exhibits with a view of laying a charge against any individual after clarification of the law by the court of appeal in appropriate jurisdiction."So essentially the police are saying that they realize that PEI courts do not recognize marijuana possession as an offence. Yet they are going to continue to seize marijuana and record the information needed to lay a charge at a later date. According to some legal experts and activists, this could result in the police being sued for theft and false arrest.The news release said the police department would have no further comment on the matter.The next stop on the Marc Emery Summer of Legalization Tour is Calgary, Alberta, on August 9, to be followed by Edmonton, Alberta the next day. Police in Edmonton have already announced that they do not intend to arrest Emery if he tokes up at their headquarters.Click here to discuss Marc Emery's tour on the CC Forums. -- http://www.cannabisculture.com/chatClick here for the Summer of Legalization Tour archives. -- http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/3026.htmlJuly 9: Winnipeg, ManitobaJuly 10: Dauphin, ManitobaJuly 12: Regina, SaskatchewanJuly 19: Halifax, Nova ScotiaJuly 21: Moncton, New BrunswickJuly 23: Charlottetown, Prince Edward IslandJuly 26: St. John's, NewfoundlandAugust 9: Calgary, AlbertaAugust 10: Edmonton, AlbertaAugust 11: Saskatoon, SaskatchewanAugust 12: Prince George, BCAugust 25: Kingston, OntarioAugust 26: London, OntarioAugust 27: Hamilton, OntarioAugust 28: Sudbury, OntarioAugust 30: Windsor, Ontario Newshawk: afterburnerSource: Cannabis Culture Author: Dana LarsenPublished: July 27, 2003Copyright: 2003 Cannabis CultureContact: ccmag cannabisculture.com Website: http://www.cannabisculture.com/ DL: http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/3039.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Pot-TVhttp://www.pot-tv.net/Marijuana Activist Fails To Get Rise Out of Cops http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16943.shtmlMarc Emery Escapes Arrest in Charlottetown http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16932.shtmlPolice Arrest Marijuana Activisthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16927.shtmlMarc Emery Jailed in Moncton http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16920.shtmlCannabisNews Articles -- Marc Emeryhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=emery Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by Lehder on July 29, 2003 at 05:35:27 PT end the war right now If Emery can't start drawing bigger crowds and if he is not joined by a few respected public figures, then in February PM Chretien will be replaced by the prohibitionist Paul Martin and our best chance for a peaceful resolution to the drug will be lost.If you know any respected public figures who smoke cannabis, you better pressure them to uncloset themselves. Years of more violence, destruction, arrests, impoverishments and social polarization will be the price of not winning in Canada before the end of this year.Writers, athletes, scientists, TV stars - lots of successful and widely respected people are closet smokers. They have little to fear right now, and have the opportunity to explode the stigma of marijuana smoking that decades of propaganda have instilled. Breaking this stigma will leave prohibitionists shouting into the wind and end the war. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Lehder on July 29, 2003 at 05:14:21 PT perfect timing Three cheers for Marc Emery. I hope that his marijuana smoking tour will inspire some upstanding citizens - all those friends, neighbors and colleagues whom no one ever suspected - to step out of their closets and say, "Surprise, me too!" The timing is absolutely perfect. First one, then two, a few - altogether it would only take twenty or so well known personalities right now to step out, tell the truth about cannabis, and put another really big crimp in the prohibitionists' recriminalization ambitions. The public is ready to respond most favorably. If just a very few well known people proclaim their healthful and beneficial use of marijuana each week for the next few weeks, their actions will carry more force right now that at any other time in the drug war. If Emery's tour can precipitate a few of these public revelations they might even snowball and we'd see Canadian prohibition crumble like the Berlin Wall. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by i420 on July 28, 2003 at 17:04:44 PT Contact cnn,foxnews please email or call cnn and foxnews demand coverage of these protest. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by afterburner on July 28, 2003 at 14:06:10 PT: i420 Yes, t-shirts are ready in green, gold, red, black, or white. Medium, large, or extra large. Inquiries: afterburner boxfrog.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by i420 on July 28, 2003 at 05:28:26 PT Summer of Legalization Tour T-shirts?? Have they come out with any concert like t-shirt for this "Summer of Legalization Tour" with tour dates and locations on the back??? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on July 28, 2003 at 03:43:04 PT Two new Emery articles Edmonton Sun: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-07-28-0033.htmlNational Post: http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=62A47AAB-653D-47C8-8C59-96256F0E4712 [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Virgil on July 27, 2003 at 23:26:15 PT My opinion is... If the Canadians can have cannabis soup, then I should be able to have cannabis soup. I should not have to call treason again, but Cannabis Prohibition is treason. Cannabis Prohibition is WRONG. What am I going to have to do sell tee-shirts and bumperstickers?We have a War Against Herbal Remedies. That is the War that is launched upon us. The German Nazis want standardized herbal products where the turn growers into peasants. The American Nazis first want to stop the price of legalized drugs first do not want people actually going to Canada because it is buy one, get one free in Canada. First the American Nazis in the Pill division do not want a $200 billion a year business become a $100 business. The one institution of government that is not overwhelmed with corruption in the history of the nation it is the Patent Office. They have not corrupted it yet as they need it for their purposes and besides they control the Nazis in Congress as their lobbyist far outnumber Congress.What would different nutritions do for you. They still use a coca product in Coke and the coca plant should be legal. So cocaine is bad. Solve the goddamn problem instead of poisoning the rainforest just to increase logging. Are you teaching the kids we need to save the rainforest including the temperate rainforest in Southern Alaska where a $150 year old tree is sold for $1.50. Now why would you trust an American Nazi in the Pill Division when they surely take a high pill or have an addiction. That is the way they like it. They advocate pollution for a better Pill Empire.Now it all depends on how you look at it. The CSA that found them Yankees had a War for Southern Independence. Some people still don't care for alternative names. The War on Drugs might well be just a battle in what has always has been the War of the Classes, with the 1% that own two-thirds of everything saying stuff rules. It is an upside-down idea. But they solved their problem by standing everything on its head. Things must turned right so that people can see that it is they that are up-side down on that. First we have to set the world right, where things once again make sense.Battle, War. If you are engaged it is War. The Stuff Class have no choice but to War and Corrupt and build military's around the war to kill people that escape the pollution plan. They War On Herbal Remedies. The people that support Cannabis Reform will win our battle and be and fight their War On Herbal Remedies and who cares what they call it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on July 27, 2003 at 19:48:40 PT Government meltdown I can understand not understanding by an individual, but someone in government sure as hell ought to know the status of things. It was one thing to have mean-spirited laws for social engineering, but it is another thing to have ignorance of the law by the criminal justice system.I am confused by it all myself as there is no comprehensive summary of what has transpired. On July 31, 2000 the Ontario Court of Appeal gave the government 365 days to create a workable distribution system for MMJ patients. Actually the system was declared unconstitutional with a one year stay. My understanding is that the government did not even bother appealling the decision with my feelings being they knew damned well they did not have a workable program. I guess they knew they were in the wrong. Now on the last day which would be July 31, 2001 the government introduced a plan of nonsense often called the MMAR, which stands for Medical Marijuana Access Regulations. At that point I am somewhat lost. Did just submitting some papers create a workable situation that appeased the courts. It seems like the courts would have to certify that the plan was workable although who the heck knows. It must not have been the case as arrest still went on and the prohibitionists were all happy.It is Marc Emery's contention that there have been no cannabis laws in Canada in since August 1, 2001 and people like Frank Discussion that had the "I am Cannabian" t-shirts and others would say the same thing. There came one ruling on January 2, 2003 saying that there were no laws against possession and a second court case about a week later said the same thing- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15165.shtml So, it seems to me that the laws actually did end on August 1, 2001.But just because the cannabis laws fell, does not mean there was a workable program by the government to supply MMJ patients. The MMAR was itself declared unconstitutional on January 9th with another stay until July 9th- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15160.shtml So again on the last day the Canadians get another unworkable plan that did not even have a name. It was called an interim plan, which probably should just be called Unconstitutional Plan #2, because it will soon be forgotten and it is ridiculous especially given the price and restrictions. You can see how it dominated the news here on July 9th- http://www.cannabisnews.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/cnews/newsread.pl?16800The May 16th decision is what turned the spotlight on when a Windsor Superior Court judge upheld the earlier ruling of the lower court- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread16321.shtml The govenment's first response was to spend $240 million on demonizing as it has proved to be the strength of inducing mind-contol in support of prohibition- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread16395.shtml and http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread16396.shtml and http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread16397.shtmlNow there are two important cases coming up Tuesday and Wednesday. One of these must be the Ontario Supreme Court ruling on the appeal of the Superior Court that was binding in all of Ontario and some say all of Canada because drug cases are prosecuted by the Federal Crown instead of the usual instance of a Provencial Crown.Things are working their way up through higher courts that started with the January 2nd ruling. The Superior Court that heard the appeal and said there is no law against cannabis, at least possession, is binding until reversed. Now if it is reversed, I think it would be a show of corruption and a start of some real protest.But I am confused as anybody, but that is about the way I see it. I was waiting for Richard Cowan to make sense of it all. This week is a big week to Cannabians and the rest of us. That is for sure.Now it is one thing for me to be confused, but for the LE and criminal justice system to draw a blank on the issue is all but unbelievable. It is a meltdown of the system like Tulia. Meltdown here and a meltdown there and pretty soon prohibition is going to be nuked to death. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by ron on July 27, 2003 at 18:38:24 PT gandhi would love it "As an interim measure, Charlottetown city police will continue to investigate, document and seize cannabis and maintain continuity of exhibits with a view of laying a charge against any individual after clarification of the law by the court of appeal in appropriate jurisdiction."blah, blah, blah... smoking pot is no longer an offence in canada until parliament makes it so... if enuf people start openly smoking it the police and politicians will back off... mark that marijuana man! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment