EDMONTON – A marijuana advocate arrived at the University of Alberta in Edmonton Thursday evening, determined to get his message across despite having been arrested in Calgary the night before.
READ MORE: ‘I kind of insisted on it’: Pro-marijuana activist reacts to arrest, charges
The Vancouver resident has said he believes people shouldn’t be waiting for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to legalize pot. While in Calgary, he gave out free packs of medical-grade cannabis seeds despite several police officers being present.
The 44-year-old was charged with one count of trafficking marijuana and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking. His van was also seized by police. One of his volunteers was arrested as well.
Larsen, speaking outside the arrest processing unit in Calgary Thursday morning, claimed to have asked police to arrest him after they took a volunteer for the event into custody.
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Larsen’s defiance encouraged many to come out to the Edmonton lecture on Thursday.
“To see him be arrested yesterday while he’s trying to have this tour and do this activism, you know it was really important for me to just come out here physically and show that I’m a supporter,” Anthony Mayfield said.
“I thought it was a good idea that he put himself up for arrest,” AJ Janewski said. “It’s a way to get the word out and get people thinking about medical marijuana and just marijuana in itself.”
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At his Edmonton stop, however, Larsen wasn’t handing out any cannabis seeds although those with him did.
“I can’t handle cannabis or cannabis seeds, according to my bail – except at work it says. So when I’m at my dispensary in Vancouver where I sell marijuana and mail it across the country, I’m allowed to use, buy, sell, deal with cannabis there, but nowhere else,” he said.
The next stop on Larsen’s tour is Saskatoon on Sunday.
With files from Shallima Maharaj, David Boushy and Sarah Offin.
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