Pot activist’s visit prompts police warning
Dana Larsen, the British Columbia man who calls himself a cannabis crusader, will be in St. John’s this weekend spreading his message of cannabis freedom as part of his cross-country campaign.
But the police officer heading this province’s drug unit is warning the public to be leery of what Larsen has to say.
RNC Supt. Marlene Jesso is concerned Larsen may send the wrong message to people when it comes to the legalization of marijuana.
“It’s not against the law for him to come down here and speak to people,” said Jesso, who is in charge of the Newfoundland and Labrador combined forces special enforcement unit, a joint RCMPRNC team.
“But people have to understand that when it comes to the legalization of marijuana, only the government can decide what can and cannot be done, not Dana Larsen.”
In keeping with an election promise, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government will legalize the recreational possession of marijuana and regulate the sale of it in the near future. The federal government is set to introduce legislation regulating the sale of marijuana in the coming months.
Larsen — a longtime activist who has pushed for pot legalization for years and says civil disobedience has triggered change — is on a national Overgrow Canada tour of 23 cities to speak about cannabis reform and to give away free cannabis seeds.
“I am calling on all freedomloving Canadians to grow a cannabis victory garden in 2017,” he wrote on his Overgrow Canada website.
Larsen is scheduled to speak at the Comfort Inn Hall on Airport Road in St. John’s on Saturday at 7 p.m.
As part of his speech, he will touch on topics such as the hidden history of cannabis and what’s going on with legalization.
According to his news release, another topic he plans to speak about is how to open your own dispensary.
That concerns Jesso, who was one of only nine Canadians appointed to serve on a task force formed to advise the federal government on how to legalize and regulate marijuana. Input from the task force, which was comprised of experts in public health and substance abuse, will help the government determine the regulations.
“Once legalization comes into effect, not everybody will be able to open up their own dispensary here. The provincial government and municipalities will decide that.
“There will be strict regulations in place,” said Jesso, who has been in drug enforcement for more than a decade.
“Mr. Larsen can’t just come here and tell people what they can and cannot do. Nobody can make those calls until government finalizes its report.”
When asked about Larsen’s plans to distribute free cannabis seeds, Jesso replied, “That would be trafficking and that’s all I will say about that.”