POT RALLY CANCELLED

An Edmonton man being released from a four-month jail sentence for
trafficking marijuana says Edmonton police interfered in his efforts to
raise money to fight drug charges he'll face in April.

Ken Kirk, scheduled to be released from the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional
Centre March 19, was planning a hall party to help raise money to cover
legal fees he'll incur when he faces further drug charges April 6. But the
operators of the Eastwood Community Hall backed out of a rental agreement
to host the event after police expressed concern over the party.

"They successfully sabotaged a legal endeavor," Kirk told SEE, from jail
last week.

Kirk suffers from epileptic seizures, bipolar disorder and lower-back
problems and says he smokes pot for medical purposes. He was sentenced to
five months in prison Dec. 9 after pleading guilty to two counts of
trafficking and possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking.
Two of the charges were laid when police raided a Druid winter solstice
feast Dec. 2, 1996; two further charges were laid when Kirk was arrested at
a southside park in October 1997.

His girlfriend, Amy Von Stackleberg, organized the fund-raiser, which would
also have served as a Druid celebration of spring equinox. The event was to
have been licensed and would have featured musical groups The Bell Jar
Blues Band, Dive, Knee Deep in Grass, a reggae band called Soulful Warming
and soloists Kerry Anderson, Mike Park and Ben Spencer, Von Stackleberg said.

But a member of the Eastwood community league called Von Stackleberg, said
the group wanted no part of the event and returned her $300 damage deposit.

The league's representative "said police had contacted her and told her
they were concerned about the event and concerned there was going to be
marijuana smoked there," Von Stackleberg said.

"She said I had deceived her in my appearance as a 'nice white girl' - I
quote exactly - and she was concerned there was going to be a reggae band
there."

Whatever the excuse, Von Stackleberg and Kirk see the move by city police
as a roadblock to paying legal fees.

"Justice doesn't come easily to the poor," Von Stackleberg said. "We've got
a lawyer funded by legal aid, but to pay for expert witnesses costs a lot
of money."

Police spokesperson Kelly Gordon said it was never the intent of police to
prevent Kirk from raising money. Instead, the Eastwood beat cop who
approached the community league was interested in crime prevention.

"It was never designed to get in the way of anyone's legal defence," he
said. "We knew there would be marijuana at that event - no bones about it."

But Von Stackleberg disputes that. As head organizer, she knew police would
be keeping an eye on the event and wanted to make sure there was no trouble