Activists ready for new pot reality

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This article was published 19/04/2018 (2190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Clouds of pungent smoke drifted across the front lawn of the Manitoba Legislative Building on Friday, as hundreds of cannabis lovers kicked off their annual 4/20 celebration to the tune of Peter Tosh’s classic reggae hit Legalize It.

With federal legalization of marijuana on the horizon for late summer or early fall, Tosh’s plea could finally be answered by the end of the year — and for lead event organizer Steven Stairs, this year’s 4/20 event felt different.

“Four-twenty will always mean a civil disobedience protest to me, at heart, however this year we’re able to take that protest vibe and incorporate it with a celebratory atmosphere where we can do things like recognize our losses, but acknowledge our wins.”

“Winning is having legalization,” said Stairs, a local cannabis activist. “Winning is having cannabis available in stores. Winning is having people being able to buy it and not be criminals.”

The new legal restrictions that will come with legalization — like Manitoba’s ban on home cannabis cultivation, which will be legal in most other provinces — will be fodder for 4/20 protests in years to come, Stairs said.

“And those are the things that we have to recognize and still continue fighting for, but also recognize that we are on the threshold.”

Cannabis aficionados at Friday’s event took in the sun as they smoked and contemplated the future of legal cannabis in Canada.

University student Tyler Abraham came “to smoke some weed in public and make a stand, being happy it’s legalized.”

“I’m really hoping it gets fully legalized soon, to the point where you can actually smoke outside, like out in public, and no one really cares,” he said.

“Like in California, you can walk down the street with a blunt and not get stopped by the police.”

A pending Manitoba law that will effectively limit legal cannabis consumption to private property means Abraham’s California dream is unlikely to come true in this province.

But, that law won’t actually stop people from using cannabis where they want after legalization, said a Winnipegger named Tish, who declined to share her last name. She said Manitoba should allow cannabis lounges, “like people go to a bar to have a drink — you go there, have a smoke, and then go about your business.”

Tish, who said she’d been using cannabis since the 1980s, said she was heartened to see a crowd of like-minded people downtown on Friday.

“It makes me feel that finally the truth about cannabis is out there, that it’s not the demon weed, it’s not the gateway to anything but the fridge, and that it’s actually calming to society,” she said.

“I feel that there’s nothing wrong with it, you treat it like alcohol with adults, and it helps with so many medical conditions, even just anxiety. And you don’t have to get stoned. I have stuff that I just have just for pain, and you don’t get stoned with it.”

Still, plenty of Manitobans were definitely taking the opportunity to get high on Friday, and some didn’t even need their own supply. A line of people waited for free “dabs” — potent, smokable doses of a cannabis concentrate known as “shatter” — underneath a tent near Broadway.

“We’re checking ID, we’ve got to make sure that everybody’s of age, and we just want to abide by the law,” said Stephen Andrews, one of the operators of the dab booth. “We have one day to freely do what we want, we want to go by the authority.”

Local cannabis businesses also got in on the action, using the April 20 marijuana festival as a marketing opportunity. Bailey Krahn, of Main Street head shop Krahnic Kulture, was offering a smorgasbord of bongs, pipes, grinders, vaporizers, rolling papers and of course, incense. She said she was eagerly awaiting legalization.

“I want it to help people,” Krahn said. “I want it for medical reasons, I want it for pain reasons, PTSD, there’s so many amazing things that a simple plant can do, and I think everybody should be able to enjoy what it can bring them.”

Security officers from the Manitoba legislature patrolled Friday’s event, but didn’t appear to interfere.

“The 420 protest is held every year and the organizers have cooperated with law enforcement as well as officials with the City of Winnipeg and the province to ensure that the protest is conducted safely and peacefully,” said Justice Minister Heather Stefanson in a statement.

“However, that does not mean that our government condones cannabis use in public places, especially by young people.”

“The organization, the effort and the community spirit that’s put into an event like this definitely eliminates (stereotypes)” about cannabis users, organizer Stairs said.

He pointed out that lots of other public festivals allow and promote alcohol consumption in public. “We have done everything that any other community group would have to do, and our event goes off without a hitch.”

Although 4/20 events across the world are associated with the so-called “stoner” subculture, lots of Canadians use cannabis. About 4.2 million Canadians aged 15 and older have used cannabis in the past three months, according to a survey published by Statistics Canada on Wednesday.

It’s not yet clear whether legalization of the plant for recreational purposes will result in a significant increase in cannabis users. Seventy-nine per cent of respondents to Statistics Canada’s survey said “they would not be more likely to try (cannabis) or increase their cannabis consumption” after legalization.

— with files from Nick Martin

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca