A police
constable pulls a plastic container from the pocker of a man arrested
after smoking marijuana in Victoria Park during a 420 demonstration in
London, Ont. on Monday April 20, 2015. The man produced a medical
marijuana license but was arrested after police noticed that it expired
on March 31, 2014. He told the constable that container held his
medicine.Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press/Postmedia Network
Wednesday marks the first 420 event, a global movement held each April 20 to celebrate cannabis culture and push for its legalization, since Justin Trudeau took office promising to liberalize Canada’s pot law.
In last year’s throne speech, the new federal Liberal government vowed to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana.
While their counterparts in other Canadian cities like Toronto and Ottawa turn a blind eye to public puffing at the gatherings, London police have had a zero-tolerance approach for the past five years, arresting and charging anyone who takes a toke at Victoria Park.
“It would seem reasonable to tolerate the event as most other police forces do,” said London 420 organizer Eric Shepperd.
Last year, more than a dozen officers kept close watch on protesters who gathered near the park bandshell, even bringing a large mobile surveillance camera to record the demonstration. When the clock struck 4:20 p.m., a man carrying a medical-marijuana licence took a hit from a pipe and was promptly arrested by police, who said his paperwork had expired.
Before 2011, hundreds of people flocked to Victoria Park and openly smoked marijuana on April 20.
But that changed when former police chief Brad Duncan took over, replacing predecessor Murray Faulkner.
“I think it was just the optics of having a thousand people in the park, in 2010, smoking marijuana,” Shepperd said of the ensuing crackdown, calling it “a reactionary move.”
Critics have blasted the heavy-handed approach, saying it’s a waste of police resources.
It’s unclear what the police will do Wednesday.
“It’s still an illegal activity.” a police spokesperson said when asked if the zero-tolerance policy on marijuana use will be enforced.
Under Canadian law, marijuana is considered a controlled substance.
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the London demonstration. Weather has played a major factor in crowd size during past years, but forecasters are calling for sunny skies and a daytime high of 18 C Wednesday.
Marijuana has been a divisive issue since Trudeau made the election promise to legalize the drug, a move that could create up to $5 billion in tax revenues, according to a recent report from CIBC World Markets.
But it’s not about creating a cash cow, Trudeau has said, and that all revenues will be used to address mental-health and addictions issues.
The Liberals have tapped former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, now an MP for Scarborough Southwest, to play a lead role in the legalization process.
420 facts
- Held each April 20
- Dedicated to celebrating and consuming cannabis
- Demonstrations held across world
- First held in California in 1971
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