Bud Oracle rolls a joint before Vancouver Police Board

[alflud]

Yesterday, youtube user and hemp activist Bud Oracle, along with his friend Robin, attended the monthly police board meeting in Vancouver, Canada, to address them with regard to the unjustifiable laws there concerning the possession & use of hemp. Youtube video here. Some minutes into the address Bud sits down to let Robin speak and begins to roll up a joint in the presence of many police officers. He remains unmolested. It's not so clear on camera what he is doing but there are two officers sitting beside him and you can plainly see their reaction (from 3:30 onwards). They flag the attention of their superior for guidance and he shakes his head back telling them to leave him alone. It's amazing footage and I for one think more and more of us peaceful growers and smokers should take this approach. The powers that be lie to us and convince us that we are doing wrong but we are not criminals and neither do we have to subject ourselves to the laws of their society (the law society). We are all sovereign beings and, according to the bible - the book which they give so much weight to - we are all equal before God. In other words we all have the right to form our own societies just as they have formed theirs. We have the right to use this book against them in the same ways they use it against us. Understanding the law both as it is laid out by man and how it is laid out by God, understanding how we subject ourselves to the jurisdiction of man-made societies and thus waive our "God-given" rights as free men on the land, is the key to all of this and it's no easy task but as you can see in the video it pays off in the end. Let's hope to see more of this sort of action in the future. Passive protest can only do so much.

Opinions on this? I think it's great myself. I've heard all the hype about this 'freeman on the land' stuff and to be honest I've never had much faith in it. I've always thought you can't beat these fukrs at their own game and on their own playing field but apparently it can be done. Is there anyone here with any in-depth knowledge of the law who could maybe elaborate on what it is these guys have managed to do?

 

[Koroz]

Honestly there is a lot I would like to say.. but what is the point.

Freeman on the land is bullshit. Simple as that.

the Video was a fluff piece that really didn't do anything to prove their point. I am not impressed with people who dress up in Funny hats and do outlandish shit to try and garner a reaction. Giving yourself funny names, wearing funny hats and rolling a joint might get you some laughs on the internet but it isn't going to push the movement anywhere but backward. Honestly, I want to see people in suits, clean shaven, and look like they have showered in the last year to stand up because those, regardless of how "wrong" it is to judge on appearance are the ones that the system will take seriously.

Sometimes to beat the system you have to act like the system.

 

[fatigues]

If the individual involved had an ATP under Canada's MMAR, then what he did was perfectly legal. So what? You could light up in a local McDonald's too if you have a ATP card. So what?

For non medical use, 4/20 smoke-ins and Global Marijuana marches are held in Canada every year. The police do nothing about it in the major cities other than watch to make sure there is no significant trouble. And there almost never is. So what?

The Police ignore and do no bust anybody for possession in Vancouver or Toronto in various MJ cafes in those cities. MJ is openly smoked and vaped there every night -- openly and notoriously. It is, however, not sold in such cafes openly like it is in Amsterdam. So MJ is still technically illegal in Canada - but the police do nothing as long as MJ is not openly sold there.

Try to sell it at the bar? Different story. They can and WILL bust the place in that circumstance.

That said, try to open a cannabis lounge in one of Canada's smaller cities, I'm guessing that story will have a very different ending, too. A vape lounge in Toronto is one thing - try it in Thunder Bay, Saskatoon or Fredericton? That's not going to end well.

I don't see that deliberately tweaking the beak of the Police is very helpful. The police aren't the people who change the laws. That's the Governent of Canada -- a very different gathering of people than a half-dozen local metro cops.

 

[Moldy Dreads]

the Video was a fluff piece that really didn't do anything to prove their point. I am not impressed with people who dress up in Funny hats and do outlandish shit to try and garner a reaction. Giving yourself funny names, wearing funny hats and rolling a joint might get you some laughs on the internet but it isn't going to push the movement anywhere but backward. Honestly, I want to see people in suits, clean shaven, and look like they have showered in the last year to stand up because those, regardless of how "wrong" it is to judge on appearance are the ones that the system will take seriously.

I agree, these people aren't taken seriously by anyone. This Bud Oracle guy commented on his own clip :

Gonna do 60 mgs X today and some schrooms. Walk in joy amongst God's people, exude love and positive energy in my protest. Have a good one!

and this guy :

WTF, people act like he's some kinda hip representative of the movement..
To me they look like lunatics and make us all look stupid - dumb and dumber...

 

[mr noodles]

lol at the picture

i have nothing against the peoples in the video but i dont feel represented by these folks , we are different . all kind of peoples for different message .

i have to admit i would have laugh at is hat too lol but the guy has more guts than me by wearing the hat and rolling a joint in front of 12 cops lol

was quite a scene especially while the guy was pounding is text very fast almost a scene out of borat movie lol. but these folks acted by heart and compassion and emotion for all of us in a way . i still crack a smile but i would not trow rock at them .

im glad we have a guy like maurice ' boris' saint maurice in quebec and at norml canada . very credible and well articulated . but every step by even like this one was a good step .

cops realized one very important thing that day : these people are no treat to society . maybe its a step closer to acceptance in a way

 

[shaunmulok]

I just watched that Vid and K+ to the Bud Oracle that put a smile on my face

 

[fatigues]

l
im glad we have a guy like maurice ' boris' saint maurice in quebec and at norml canada . very credible and well articulated . but every step by even like this one was a good step .

Oh? Care to tell me what Marc-Boris St-Maurice has done for the cause in the past 9 months? Cause I'd sure love to know.

Norml in the USA is a leading marijuana legalization organization. Norml in Canada is, without putting too fine a point on it, pretty much non-functioning and more or less non-operational.

 

[Che]

Fatigues the situation you described happened to the local attempt at a vape lounge here. They opened it, fair and square, and it was shut down within a couple weeks. The good catholic image of town couldn't be compromised so they used an obscure bylaw to force the shop closed. The same bylaw is never enforced on other coffee houses and small restaurants, it pertains to washroom size...

 

[alflud]

Interesting comments by all. Thanks for your responses.

Koroz I've taken the same stance as yourself in the past. I don't like to be represented by 'hippies' and I do feel a lot like you in most ways. I've been accused of being angry upon expressing this dislike but in turn pointed out that it isn't anger but indignation that I feel. So, I understand completely why you feel the way you do. However it has has to be said - I don't see the clean-shaven, well-dressed guys doing much about anything. Sure, we go out and join this rally or march and smoke a few joints in the street or whatever and we think it's great that the cops don't bother us but it's not quite the same as walking voluntarily into a police station, attending their board meeting and rolling up right there in front of them. Regardless of his appearance he at least has balls.

Moldy Dreads If they weren't taken seriously they'd have been arrested there and then. Those cops knew they were being filmed and they allowed this regardless. Something tells me that they had to. If the law is so clear about it all why then didn't they just up and say "oi, what're you doing there? You can't do that - that's breaking the law"? They should have because if it is breaking the law then they just made themselves out to be crap upholders of the law on camera.

Mr Noodles The guy's got more guts than a lot of us - me included. It's probably real petty of me to say this but I think Bud has an advantage that not a lot of the rest of us have ........... he's an old guy I dunno if he has wife and kids but if he has his kids are no doubt grown so he can probably afford to risk his freedom in this way. I have 4 kids, a girl only 3 months old, and I gotta say I wouldn't dream of doing anything like this because of that. They could probably get by without me to provide for them but still .... wouldn't be good for kids to have to go and visit you in prison. There are many reasons for NOT doing things like this so, you know, I admire the guy too for having the guts to do what a lot of the rest of us would never do.

 

[ClosetAdvocate]

the Video was a fluff piece that really didn't do anything to prove their point. I am not impressed with people who dress up in Funny hats and do outlandish shit to try and garner a reaction. Giving yourself funny names, wearing funny hats and rolling a joint might get you some laughs on the internet but it isn't going to push the movement anywhere but backward. Honestly, I want to see people in suits, clean shaven, and look like they have showered in the last year to stand up because those, regardless of how "wrong" it is to judge on appearance are the ones that the system will take seriously.

Sometimes to beat the system you have to act like the system.

+1

I feel stupider having watched this video. Seriously, just get some of your pro-Pot people into government and change the system from within.

The "BudOracle" only convinced the people at the meeting that pot smokers are at best very weird and quite possibly not responsible enough to handle freedom.

 

[mr noodles]

Oh? Care to tell me what Marc-Boris St-Maurice has done for the cause in the past 9 months? Cause I'd sure love to know.

Norml in the USA is a leading marijuana legalization organization. Norml in Canada is, without putting too fine a point on it, pretty much non-functioning and more or less non-operational.

is work on a the local french media is very good to my eyes because he got their respect so thats positive in a way , but he is very quiet recently . he was very active in the roger ferland case here on a local base . but on the federal scene , i do agree on my lack of knowledge about is implication and he was very quiet about c-15 . i just realize that .

last time he was in the media , it was to challenge the colleges des medecins of quebec because of their suggestion and recommendation to not fill the health canada paper after the commission of human right published a notice about the fact its against the chart to do so .

 

[ChronJohn]

I was just thinking the other day while talking with a friend about the reform movement, that although I don't think they represent all of us, I think we should still embrace the hippy and rasta movements because for a long time they were the only vocal supporters of reform, and kept the battles going on through the "good" times and the worst. They were here for the birth of the reform movement and they'll be here for the death. Architects and martyrs for the cause. But I agree, reform will probably be achieved by people with slick haircuts, suits, and deep pockets. I'm hoping those in the medical community who can afford to be vocal can/do fund the general legalization movement. Whether they be dispensary owners, headshop owners, grow shop owners, consulting firms; everyone who could benefit from legalization who stands nothing to lose by supporting legalization. I'll be right there with them.