Three hundred of us potheads protested Sunday, Apr. 11, Toronto Police Service compassion club raid on Cannabis As Living Medicine – CALM. A gorgeous day to protest unjust actions at police headquarters on College St.
Plenty of signs were held up for passing motorist and street car passengers to view.
Very important to have clear messages.
Fantastic protester mix between medical and recreational.
But I’d say there were many, many, more medicinal marijuana users.
Toronto Police Service officers had a good show of officers manning the barricade.
There’s police training currently ongoing for the upcoming G-20 summit. Plenty of these officers appeared to be there for some hands on training. Many had a very easy going demeanor.
The police hq has big blue dome where police chief William Blair does his thinking.
Did he plot CALM’s raid? Possibly picking the day of the bust. Timing of media release.
There appeared to be some duck and cover from TPS after CALM got popped. A media release issued after five o’clock a week after the bust.
Oh they know what they did.
One might argue Toronto Police Service officers on Sunday, Apr. 11 were clearly putting political pressure on us protesters. Forcing us at one point on the other side of the street to protest.
A common tactic I’ve witnessed at numerous kinds of rallies.
What are they protecting if barricades already surround police headquarters?
And officers every few feet are behind those barricades ready to arrest anyone who dares to jump over them.
How many officers?
I’d argue there were more officers than when Toronto residents protested at Yonge and Dundas Stephen Harper shutting down parliament. That rally had thousands of people!
How many officers were assigned for Sunday’s crowd control? Fifty?! Plus a mounted unit.
Anyway I was asked to remain CALM and protest across the street from police hq.
But bravo to the folks who took it upon themselves to warm up in sunshine in front of the police barricade. Where we should have been from the start, but ended our day.
There was serious political pressure to keep us off the police hq side.
We were very effectively penned in by cops. From behind with the barricade and then in front with bike cops. But none of us protesters cared.
We received a much better response from passerbys who saw our banners and connected it with the cop shop.
Plenty of ill people rewarded their hard day of protesting by puffing down at 420.
We publicly complained against the people who quietly complained about CALM.
Next up Tuesday Apr. 20.
Yonge and Dundas
1 – 4:20