Media ostro nadaja o zbiorowym paleniu trawki 3 maja na trawniku parlamentu. Glownie mlodziez. Wyrazaja tym swoja wolnosc, ze pod nosami policji moga smolic sobie jointa. Ale oprocz festynowego oblicza i mlodziezowego rekraacyjnego zazywania sobie maryski, demonstracja ta ma tez wiekszy i powazniejszy wymiar. Konopie maja potezna wartosc przemyslowa, farmaceutyczna i religijna. Ograniczenie konopi tylko do narkotyku i zabronienie ich produkcji i konsumpcji jest najwieksza szkoda dla cywilizacji. Pokolenie moje i moich rodzicow zindokrynizowane czarna propaganda rzadowo-policyjna o diabolicznej trawce moze tego nie rozumie, ale mlode pokolenie, z dostepem do informacji, z otwartymi umyslami, odwazne, latwo moze zmienic ten wizerunek marihuany. 20 tys. ludzi przed parlamentem mowi samo za siebie. Media to zauwazaja. A politycy? Zobaczymy.
FREEDOM FESTIVAL
DISJOINTED: Jacilyn Sweeney, 18, of Ajax, smokes on a huge joint at the Second Annual Toronto Freedom Festival on Saturday at Queen's Park (24 HOURS, Monday, May 5, 2008).
06:38 Hrs. Nie myslimy co robimy, nie myslimy co mowimy - unosi sie w Polskim Radiu Toronto na fali 1320 AM. Na dworze slonecznie. 6-stopniowo. Ptaki spiewaja. Szyby samochodu zaparowane. W dzienniku: "Prywatne jest tansze i efektywniejsze" - wyraza sie glos w radiu na temat firmy prywatnej, ktora za 10 tys. zl przygotowala wystapienie premiera. Chiny nie chca prowadzic rozmow z rzadem Tybetu na wychodzstwie.
ESSO, Shell, Canadian Tire, Petro-Canada biora za litr paliwa $1.20.2.
15:23 Hrs. I keep faith. I keep faith in you - unosi wie w CBC RADIO I na 99.1 FM gdy wracam z pracy do domu. Na dworze slonecznie. 15-stopniowo. Minute temu wyszedlem z food Basics (http://www.foodbasics.ca/). Mieli na przecenie truskawki (3 funtowe pudelka za $5) i Diet Pepsi (3 paczki 18-stopuszkowe za $10).
Rally in Big Smoke
Thousands join pot cause march
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youthful crowd
* Organizers estimated the crowd at between 15,000 and 20,000, mainly teens and people in their 20s
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Queen's Park may have been soggy from Saturday's rain, but sparks were flying as thousands spent the day smoking pot just north of the legislature.
It was part of the Toronto Freedom Festival and the 10th Global Marijuana March, with the intent of pushing to legalize marijuana.
"Hey, this is what Woodstock must have been like," said one youth as he walked by smoking a joint the size of a small cigar. "But I bet you the music won't be as good."
Bongs and pipes of all sizes and large bags of marijuana were carried around openly as police presence was limited and kept to the periphery.
A small parade travelled peacefully along Bloor Street and east to Yonge Street, south to Wellesley Street than headed back to Queen's Park.
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
John Dury gets some help from friends to get a marijuana joint going at the Toronto Freedom Festival Saturday (METRO, Monday, May 5, 2008).
Michele Mandel
This soccer mom admits she was out of her league at a marijuana smokefest. But she left with a better understanding. And the munchies
Organizers were handing out festival maps at Queen's Park yesterday, but the kids ahead of me just laughed them off. "Who the hell needs a map?" chuckled one freedom toker to the other. "Just follow the smell."
You sure couldn't miss it. My editor told me not to inhale, but I'm not sure what he was smoking when he offered that impossible advice. At yesterday's Toronto Freedom Festival and Global Marijuana March, the pungent aroma of weed was everywhere as thousands converged in the pouring rain to openly puff away in the leafy backyard of our provincial legislature.
Ah, yes, plunk a soccer mom in the midst of a muddy marijuana smokefest and behold her confusion. How many different shaped bongs can there possibly be? Who knew you could smoke a doobie the size of an Arnold Schwazeneger cigar? And why is the guy inhaling his grass through a gas mask?
Grabs attention
"It's just funny," coughs Josh Spatz, an 18-year-old aficionado from Uxbridge, after removing said gas mask to explain. "It just makes your eyes burn a lot more but it grabs your attention." Sure does. So Josh, I hate to be maternal, but do your parents know where you are? "Oh, yeah, my mom's cool with it. If it's not at her house, it's not her problem," he laughs. "I've been smoking since Grade 8 - weekends, weekdays. It's a way of life. It calms me down and keeps me centred and it's a lot better than prescription drugs."
Wrapped in a red and white flag with cannabis leaf at its centre, he decided to come down to find out what the festival was all about. "It's pretty cool. I never thought I could smoke pot in downtown Toronto without getting arrested."
Yeah, about that. Aren't all these happy, mellow people breaking the law? "We've been doing this for 10 years and we've never had a single charge," boasts festival co-founder Neev Tapiro. So, Neev, how much do you think is being peacefully puffed out there under the implicit approval of Toronto's finest? "Ooh, that's a curveball," he replies thoughtfully. He calls over a fellow organizer and after some heavy mathematical calculations by two men feeling no pain, they arrive at an estimate of 60 kilos of weed going up in smoke.
"That's a lot of lost tax dollars," Tapiro grins. "You could fund a small hospital on that." The festival, you see, isn't just about the giddy freedom of toking in public - though there was certainly a lot of that. It was also about joining 200 other cities around the world to press for the legalization of weed.
Among the speakers is 36-year-old Derek Pedro, a medicinal marijuana user who always shunned going public until he was charged by Hamilton Police - even though he's been legally licensed since 2004 to grow and possess cannabis.
"I can't handle it anymore, I have to speak out. After all, it's just a plant," says Pedro, who now uses marijuana to replace the 160 mg of Percocets a day he once needed to treat his painful connective tissue disorder. "It's a health issue but I have to explain myself all the time."
But I'm not sure the politics of marijuana are much on the minds of many of these wet, glassy-eyed potheads. Certainly not for "John" and his wide-eyed crew. Like kids in a candy store, he and his young pals are wandering through the festival taking in the music blaring from the stage and a cornucopia of booths that have transformed the Queen's Park lawn into one massive head shop.
They claim they're 16, but all those braces sure make them look like they've escaped from daycare. Needless to say, they aren't keen on offering their real names. "We found out about it on Facebook," says Mackenzie. "My parents think I just went out with friends."
Ashley, with the hippie headband, giggles. "They know we smoke. My parents found it in my room." "And they can tell by looking at us," laughs Joanne. "They got mad but they can't stop us. It's impossible," adds Mackenzie. "And we know they do it, too," argues Ashley. "They hide it, but we know."
So how do Grade 10 students afford their weekend recreational activity? "I get a good allowance," smiles John after taking another hit from his bong. "And it's cheap. It's only $10 a gram."
What a bargain. "It's a really cool feeling," he shrugs, sensing a mom's disapproval. "If it's not this, it's alcohol and this is a far less dangerous drug.
Sucking on bags
"I just wish we'd brought a tent," John sighs to his friends, glancing at the many tarps dotting the park. "We could have hot boxed it."
I wander off, assuming I kind of understand what that means only to arrive in "Yongesterdam" where people are sucking on gigantic condom-like plastic bags. Okay, now you've really lost me. "We're vapourizing," explains 20-year-old Tom from Tottenham.
According to my friendly cannabis tutor, the $650 contraption heats your buds, turning them into vapour which is then trapped in a plastic bag for your inhalation pleasure: "This is much healthier. It's pure THC - all the chemicals are burned off. Want to try it?" Sorry, but I'm off to check out the fajitas booth instead. After all this second-hand smoke, I have a serious case of the munchies (SUNDAY SUN, May 4, 2008).
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