Pot site sparks furor - Urges 'drug vacations': Cops
By: Sun Media, Ottawa Sun, 09/24/03

TORONTO -- Organizers of a Canadian pro-marijuana website say several Americans have filed refugee claims here because they're being persecuted by police for smoking dope in the U.S.

But Canadian cops want a probe into the Underground Reefer Railway site, which they claim urges Americans to file frivolous refugee claims so they can stay in Canada and smoke pot without being penalized as in the U.S.

The site urges Americans to illegally enter the country by using phony identification, hiding themselves in cargo or by paying smugglers, police say. The Americans are also promised refige in safe houses once they arrive in Canada.

"It is a sad state of affairs," said Bruce Miller of the Police Association of Ontario. "People are being encouraged to come to Canada for drug vacations."

Miller said the site should be investigated to determine if any Canadian laws are being broken.

B.C. site operator David Malmo-Levine said U.S. surfers have thanked him for detailing how to make refugee claims.

He said the site is a service for medical pot users and those who fear U.S. jails. Malmo-Levine said it doesn't counsel people to sneak across the border or make refugee claims.