Activists jeered police officers as they arrested a man at a pro-marijuana demonstration Monday in Victoria Park.

Around 75 people gathered at the park for the annual 420 rally, an international day celebrating cannabis culture and advocating for the drug to be legalized.

At 4:20 p.m., an unidentified man in a black leather jacket showed a medicinal marijuana licence before sparking up a small pipe.

The man had hardly exhaled when police officers promptly surrounded him and placed him under arrest, saying his licence had expired.

That’s when things turned ugly.

Some in the crowd hurled profanity-laced insults at police and taunted officers as they led the man to a cruiser, searched him and placed him in the backseat.

Protest organizer Eric Shepperd blasted the police response, calling it “utterly absurd.

“It certainly wasn’t necessary to be hauling a guy away for smoking marijuana in a park, with or without a licence,” Shepperd said. “This is an approach by London police that’s unnecessary and it simply caused a commotion where none need exist.”

Authorities had previously warned demonstrators that there would be a zero-tolerance approach to drug use.

The warning came despite a plea from organizers to follow the lead of police in other Canadian cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, where thousands gathered Monday and openly smoked marijuana while officers stood by.

“Here in London we enforce the laws of our land,” Sgt. David Ellyatt said when asked why police arrested the man.

“At this point he doesn’t have a proper licence for possession, therefore he was arrested and will be charged once the investigation is complete.”

Around a dozen police officers, some riding bikes, kept close tabs on the demonstrators, who waved marijuana flags and held signs denouncing Canada’s pot laws.

Police also brought in a large mobile surveillance camera to record the protest.

“Nobody has any freedom here today,” said activist Kevin Jones.

“We’re the only city in Canada that cracks down on something that shouldn’t be illegal.”

dale.carruthers@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/DaleatLFPress