CANNABIS CULTURE – The first-ever free hemp burger barbeque will be held on the back lawn of the Victoria, B.C. courthouse this afternoon (May 19) at 1pm.

This hemp barbeque will be an opportunity to celebrate a small victory for Owen Smith, baker for the Cannabis Buyers Clubs of Canada, and raise awareness about his 20 day jury trial set to commence on Jan 16, 2012. On Dec 3, 2009, Owen was arrested in a downtown apartment building making edible and topical cannabis products and was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking cannabis and possession for the purpose of trafficking THC.

While cannabis is legally available for medical purposes in Canada, the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations are fraught with problems.

For example, while it is legal to grow and smoke cannabis, if it is cooked in butter and pressed through cheesecloth, then an illegal drug has been produced. Synthetic THC, Marinol, is available by prescription.

A preliminary inquiry was set for May 19 and 20, at which time lawyer Kirk Tousaw was prepared to argue the charge of PPT cannabis should be dropped to mere possession. Crown lawyers were not able to find a police officer willing to suggest that the less than 1 gram Owen had in his possession was for trafficking. With no expert witness, crown was forced to drop the charge to simple possession.

Now with over 3,600 members, the CBC of Canada has been operating in Victoria for over 15 years and is the oldest medical cannabis distributor in the world. The CBC of C has 29 cannabis food and skin products that help relieve inflammation, relax muscles, reduce pain and provide other benefits.

The hemp burgers will feature BC Bud’s Barbeque Sauce, made in Vancouver, hemp buns made at the Bakery on Broad and a hemp burger recipe made by Ted Smith. The barbeque will be both Thurs and Friday. This is a trial run for the 20 day jury trial in Jan, at which time the International Hempology 101 Society plans upon giving out 101 hemp burgers every single day Owen is in court.

For more information call 250-381-4220, email [email protected] or check out hempology.ca.