Nothing formal is planned but hundreds of pro-marijuana activists are expected to fill Victoria Park on Wednesday for the annual 4/20 demonstration.
The global event, marked every April 20, advocates for the legalization of marijuana with protesters toking up at 4:20pm. Unlike their counterparts in other Canadian cities, London police have taken a zero-tolerance approach to the event for the past five years.
Organizer Eric Shepperd believes police began cracking down on the Victoria Park demonstration when former police chief Brad Duncan took over command.
"There was a definite shift in the attitude because in 2010 there were a thousand or more people in the park and the police did indeed nothing," says Shepperd. "I believe after that there was a shift in perception. There was a need to reassert authority on the behalf of the police service, which unfortunately ended up accomplishing very little."
Last year, roughly a dozen officers on bikes and in nearby cruisers kept watch over the demonstrators. One man was arrested for lighting up some pot. He claimed to have a medical marijuana licence, but police say it was outdated.
Police Chief John Pare is making it clear, their position on the day has not changed.
"At this point in time, marijuana is still illegal and so we will have a presence at Victoria Park and enforce any laws that are required," says Chief Pare. "The officers are empowered to use their discretion as they see fit and will deal with the matters as they come up."
That is in contrast to Ottawa and Toronto where activists puff joints on the lawn of Parliament and Dundas Square with police turning a blind eye on 4/20.
"The inevitable legalization of marijuana shows that drug prohibition has completely failed in what it was attempting to do," says Shepperd. "The prohibition actually causes more harm than the drugs themselves so the only rational choice is to legalize the drug and to stop enforcing a law that has no purpose."
The federal Liberals, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have promised to legalize and regulate marijuana, although a time line for that has not been set.
Shepperd says a blind eye from police, coupled with a forecasted sunny high of 16C, would make the demonstration one of the best in recent years.
"If the London Police Service see reason and tolerate the event like other police services do it will be a lovely day in the park," says Shepperd.
