TWO ARRESTED AT 'SMOKE-IN' TO PROTEST LAW ON MARIJUANA

Two protesters were arrested at a smoke-in in Abbotsford Sunday while
rallying for the decriminalization of marijuana.

The rally drew 100 to 150 people to Mill Lake Centennial park said Sergeant
Don Herder of the Abbotsford police.

"Really, we did not have too much of a problem at all," Herder said. "Not
much of a smoke-in."

Herder said the arrests included one for possession of marijuana and the
other for obstruction. The two men arrested are scheduled to appear in
Abbotsford provincial court on March 17.

Organizer Jason Rowsom, who has been in the news recently in connection
with a police raid that occurred at one of his friend's homes during a
child's birthday party, said people listened to music and speeches.

They also demonstrated against laws that make the possession of marijuana
illegal and against the "overly excessive force of the police" in enforcing
them, he said.

"A judge just said it is okay to possess child pornography in the privacy
of your own home, yet I am labelled a criminal because I smoke marijuana,"
said Rowsom, referring to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Duncan Shaw's ruling
this month that freedom of expression outweighs the law against possession
of child pornography.

"I pay taxes, I work hard, I raise my family with good morals and bring up
my children properly," he said, after getting up on stage and lighting a
joint to the crowd's applause.

Rowsom, who admits to having "a healthy police record," and is facing
charges for allegedly assaulting a 23-year-old male at a Shell gas station
earlier this month, said he organized the smoke-in to "get something into
the news and get Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh to wake up and say 'Holy
cow, if this is going on in a small little church community, maybe I should
look at this law again.'"

Among the lively crowd, which ranged in age from teenagers to seniors, was
one woman protesting the protest, holding up a sign that read: "Get high on
life, not pot: It's free, it's legal, it's healthy."

Local mother-of-two Margaret Ann got on stage to say young people shouldn't
use marijuana without understanding its effects on their bodies.

"If you tell kids there is nothing wrong with smoking pot, you should be
honest enough to say there are some short-term and long-term effects," said
Ann, adding she watched her 17-year-old daughter's grades and energy level
slide while she experimented with drugs. "I'm not an expert, I'm just a
parent who's seen some of the effects."

Rowsom said his children are still traumatized from the recent police raid
on a birthday party, during which an officer shot a family dog.

The Abbotsford police chief has ordered an internal investigation into the
raid.

Rowsom, 28, said he had begun to plan the protest before the raid, but the
incident "put a little more wind into my sails without having to say
anything because people made the association."

He is also collecting names on a petition for decriminalization, which he
plans to send to the attorney-general's office next week. He said the
smoke-in was a trial run for a bigger hemp fest he intends to hold on
private property in a few months.