Pot smokers light up in Toronto street march

[struggle4progress]

Source: Reuters

By Cameron French

TORONTO (Reuters) - Thousands of marijuana enthusiasts marched in downtown Toronto on Saturday, many openly smoking the drug as part of a globally coordinated rally meant to celebrate cannabis culture and push for the drug's legalization.

Police were content to let marchers -- who mostly appeared to be in their late teens to early 30s -- light up at will as they strolled along Toronto's Bloor Street shopping thoroughfare, chanting slogans like "free the weed," as amused motorists honked their approval.

The Global Marijuana March, scheduled to take place in 200 cities across the globe on Saturday with Toronto hosting the flagship event -- is in its 10th year, organizers said.

The event has grown in popularity in Toronto in recent years as the issue of marijuana legalization has become a political hot potato ...

Read more: http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAN0329782220080503

[Ken Burch]

1. Were they really marching, or just kinda ambling?

n/t.

[Kaleko]

11. Amblin' with a softly meandering touch would be most likely.

[BrokenSocialScene]

2. Were local 7/11's properly stocked with gardettos?

pressing issue.

[SpiralHawk]

3. Correction: openly smoking the herb, not the 'drug'

Marijuana is a natural earth plant. Drugs are chemicals mixed up in corporate labs and skanky crack hidehouts.

[Popol Vuh]

4. Excellent Point

:smoke:

[yellowdogmi]

5. If there is going to be a floor fight at our convention

Maybe this needs to be addressed with our party elders. perhaps over a puff.:smoke:

[Proletariatprincess]

6. Great idea...but I'm afraid it is just a pipe dream.

The prison industrial complex is making way too much money on the War on Drugs to ever have a real dialog on this issue. Did you know that "enforcement" is the largest job category in the USA? That includes drug testing industry and employer rent a cops and "work force monitors".
They know that the herb is not a threat to anyone, but it's criminalization serves lots of purposes including keeping the curbing of our civil liberties and contributing to the Police State.

[High Plains]

8. Marijuana is decriminalized in 12 US states.

That's a start. It's a long struggle, but it's no pipe dream.

[High Plains]

9. Several thousand marched in Mexico City

My favorite juxtaposition of issues: Mexico is the midst of a huge battle over privatizing Pemex, the state oil monopoly. For many, it is considered a crown jewel of Mexican nationalism. In the Mexican Revolution a century ago, they took the oil companies from the foreigners; now many fear the Calderon government is going to give it over to the foreigners again.

Thus, the following sign:

La mariguana y el petroleo
Eso es nuestro patrimonio

Marijuana and oil
That's our patrimony

I should have a blog post with lots of pictures up sometime today. Check it out at www.stopthedrugwar.org

[midnight]

13. But aren't federal agents still proscuting people in those states?

I'm thinking of a clinic that was busted for giving out the herb.

[High Plains]

16. You're thinking of medical marijuana states.

There are 12 of those, too. In a few cases, like California and Oregon, they have both decriminalized and enacted medical marijuana laws.

The problem with the feds is primarily in California. They just can't stand to see the dispensary system working. Still, their resources are limited, they have othe fish to fry, and time is running out on them. Both Hillary and Obama have signalled they would not make raiding California dispensaries a high priority.

[RainDog]

15. As oil gets more expensive

I'm inclined to believe that hemp will become more attractive as an agricultural product. better than ethanol, tho both can't save the world. since mj is simply a hybrid of industrial hemp, I don't see how this stupid legislation can remain. maybe when oil hits 200/bl we'll see some sanity? better to burn hemp than firewood.

[mdmc]

14. corporations still want hemp and pot illegal

look for both corporate parties to jock the corporations during the election.

[Telly Savalas]

18. It would change the meaning of bigwigs making the decisions in smoke-filled rooms.

[Adsos Letter]

7. Has anyone seen JeffR...?

just wondering if he was there to...uh...do the photography... :D

[JeffR]

10. Sadly, consarn it, no.

This was a working day, albeit not a very productive one. The weather was iffy, as it turns out. I don't pay near enough attention to protests about anything other than Iraq and Afghanistan.

I did have a very nice afternoon a few weeks back getting high at the city's sole pot-friendly café, during the brief recent pseudo-summer. Fun fact: the café offers excellent food, when there's no reason on earth why they need to.

Raw, rainy spring has returned with a vengeance, and my humble freelance plate briefly overflows, so I have to put what I love on hold because of what I need. It's a big damn drag, but it's all good.

[Tuttle]

12. I hope Ricky, Bubbles and Julian were on hand....

Tut-tut

[nebenaube]

17. and yet

at a Reggae Fest Yesterday there was the typical 12 man security team employed by the venue and a platoon of police on site. At one point during the day, we went back out to the car to get my daughter's dinner (dietary restrictions) and I notice the cops are sticking their face in every car in the lot, systematically walking up to anyone in the parking lot and getting into their personal space, as my 10 yr daughter and I stood there this asshole walks up, gets into my face and starts sniffing.

And yes, it was a Reggae Fest with about 400 people but I never smelled anything but beer, brats, and bad perfume on the 40-something fugly swingers that were there.

I swear, the concept of keeping the peace as well as any sense of freedom I knew as a child is truely ancient history in this land.

[nebula]

19. LSD, weed

decriminalize it.

[mdmc]

20. kick

for the leaf

[Zhade]

21. Canada: freer than the United States.

Can't wait to move there someday.