Pot activist Dana Larsen busted while handing out cannabis seeds in Calgary
Calgary police arrested high-profile marijuana activist in early stages of Canada-wide seed give-away tour
By David Bell, CBC News Posted: Apr 06, 2016 10:34 PM MT Last Updated: Apr 07, 2016 10:28 AM MT
A high-profile marijuana activist in the early stages of a Canada-wide seed give-away tour has been taken into custody by Calgary police, along with another man, during the second stop of the tour.
Dana Larsen’s goal was to give away a million cannabis seeds to Canadians to plant on public and private property as part of a multi stop tour he calls OverGrow Canada.
But police had other plans at the Calgary event, only the second stop in the tour after Kelowna.
“It is bullshit,” said Travis Donald, who attended the event.
“Shame, shame, shame,” chanted Dana Larsen supporters to Calgary police during his arrest 0:22
“It is just a plant that people use medicinally and otherwise for thousands of years. Our government still chooses to oppress the plant that gives all these people the relief they are looking for and it is less harmful than alcohol by any means so I don’t see why people are still going to prison,” Donald said.
“It is unjust.”
The event had been publicized and about 150 people showed up at the Days Inn on Macleod Trail South Wednesday night.
Larsen spoke to supporters about the history of marijuana in Canada for about an hour.
When organizers ran out of seeds, one man went out to a van to get more and was promptly taken into custody, witnesses tell CBC News.
Larsen came out to investigate holding seeds in his hand. After speaking briefly to a group of supporters that had assembled outside, Larsen was taken into custody as well.
Cindy Heemeryck, an associate of Larsen’s, says she’s not happy about the police intervention.
“I am very upset about it, I am more upset about the van being confiscated with all our goods in there,” Heemeryck said.
“When I say goods, I mean packages of seeds people have ordered online … every chance we get to a mailbox we throw tons and tons and tons in there. People are waiting all across Canada for their seed packages and now the police have them seized in our van as well as some medicinal cannabis which was mine.”
Police said in a release one person had been arrested at the event and that charges are pending.
“Under the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, it is illegal to distribute marijuana in any form regardless of whether payment is provided,” the release said.
Police say they will address the incident at a news conference Thursday.
With files from the CBC’s Mike Symington
Article source CBC News
Cannabis Culture News LIVE: Dana Larsen Vows To Give Away 2 Million Pot Seeds After Arrest
POT TV – Watch Cannabis Culture News LIVE for the latest news and views on pot politics and the marijuana community. In this episode: We interview marijuana activist Dana Larsen about his arrest by Calgary police for giving away pot seeds.
Jeremiah Vandermeer is editor of Cannabis Culture & Pot TV. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Post source Cannabis Culture
B.C. pot activist Dana Larsen charged for giving away marijuana seeds in Calgary
![WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016; CALGARY, AB. -- Vancouver pot activist Dana Larsen was arrested and charged in Calgary on Wednesday evening, April 6, 2016 following a rally being held at a Days Inn in the 3900 block of McLeod trail. Larsen was charged with one count of trafficking and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking. This photo shows the crowd outside of the hotel on Wednesday evening when Larsen was being arrested. [PNG Merlin Archive] Photograph by: Twitter / @mistysaid , Vancouver Sun](https://dopechef.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Calgary-seed-bust.jpg)
Vancouver-based pot activist Dana Larsen vows to push ahead with his pro-legalization rallies and tour despite being arrested and charged in Calgary this week for distributing marijuana seeds.
“It’s absolutely fuelling the fire,” he said Thursday. “I’m getting more requests for seeds and have more people contacting me to donate seeds — so really, this kind of harassment just gets people worked up and gets way more media attention.”
Larsen, 44, was arrested Wednesday evening in Calgary during the second stop of his cross-country OverGrow Canada tour.
The tour is meant to promote legalization of marijuana by encouraging people to plant and grow marijuana. Larsen had planned to give away seeds in each city. The activist hopes these “victory gardens” will be located in plain sight.
At Wednesday’s stop, Calgary police were stationed outside Larsen’s rally, which was held at a Days Inn.
“Despite a high-profile presence of uniformed police officers, a rally organizer began distributing marijuana seeds to members of the audience,” read a police statement released Thursday. “As the seeds ran out, a man went to a van to retrieve more stock, at which time he was arrested and taken into custody.”
“I ran outside to see what was going on,” said Larsen. When he realized one of his volunteers had been arrested, he said he told police: “You have to arrest me, too.”
Larsen was arrested and police then searched his van. They seized 119 grams of marijuana, worth about $1,190, and 1,097 grams of marijuana seeds, worth about $30,000. A small amount of cannabis resin and oil was also found.
Larsen was held overnight before being released on $1,000 bail. He has been charged with one count of trafficking marijuana and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He is expected to appear in a Calgary court on May 18.
The other man who was arrested was released without charges.
Larsen said authorities now are pushing for a mandatory minimum six-month jail sentence, but he said he “will be very shocked” if he is convicted “under Harper’s mandatory minimum laws.”
Under his bail conditions, Larsen also cannot possess any cannabis or cannabis seeds during the remainder of his tour, but is still allowed to run his dispensary once he returns to Vancouver.
“No more giveaways, but I’ll still be doing everything I can to get cannabis seeds into people’s hands,” he said, adding people can visit his website to sign up.
To date, more than 10,000 packages of seeds have been put into the mail in Larsen’s campaign. As a result of Wednesday’s arrest, he’s also doubled his original goal — which was to distribute a million seeds across the country — to two million.
“The point of this campaign is to make cannabis growing so open and ubiquitous that police will give up on policing it,” said Larsen.
“We can make history together and we don’t have to wait for our politicians to act.”
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Article source Vancouver Sun
Further research: OverGrow Canada with free cannabis seeds from Dana Larsen
