Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/4/2009 (4180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If history prevails, the Manitoba Legislature will go up in smoke at 4:20 p.m. today.



That’s the day and time, every year, round the world, when druggies and human rights activists join to protest the criminalization of marijuana. Traditionally, in Winnipeg, the protest has taken place on the grounds of the Legislature.



But this year, there may be a new gathering spot. Signs on the window of La Mota, a new drug paraphernalia shop, say the shop will be open today from 1 to 8 p.m. The sign suggests there will be 420 specials. The "420" is graphically depicted in clouds of smoke.



Calls to La Mota — Spanish for speck and slang for marijuana — were not returned today.



Const. Jacqueline Chaput, Winnipeg police public information officer, said police expect the same type of peaceful protest at the Legislature they faced for the last couple of years.



The crowd management unit, not dressed in riot gear, will be on hand to ensure all stays peaceful, Chaput said, but they will not be enforcing the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.



"We know what they’re here for," Chaput said. "If there is nothing of significance, nothing that would jeopardize public safety," officers will merely observe.



Police are not anticipating a gathering at the La Mota shop. The shop’s location, just a block away from St. James Collegiate and George Waters Middle School at 1859 Portage, is a cause of concern for St. James-Assiniboia School Division trustees. They have asked city council to revamp bylaws to keep drug-related businesses away from schools, in the same way bylaws keep adult-only video shops away from schools.



St. James-Assiniboia school board chairman Peter Carney has said the store was open at least once before last week and attracted a crowd of young people.



Carney said the board regularly suspends students for marijuana possession.



"We’ve had a large number of students, not just from St. James Collegiate, but all the high schools, caught with marijuana. It’s getting worse.



The new shop is called La Mota — which Internet references make clear is slang for marijuana — and sports pictures on its facade of scales and a pipe, as well as a large sign saying it will open April 20. That day, commonly known as 4/20, has become a counterculture holiday on which people gather to smoke marijuana publicly.