That summer, Chris opened Canada's first modern day hemp store in sleepy London, Ontario. It was an in-your-face legalization store at 183 King Street (a mini mall, no less!), and everything in the store broke the vicious censorship and restraint of practice laws that have kept the cannabis culture chained in helpless silence since the mid 1980's. Chris sold pipes, bongs, and grow guides, all illegal. Chris was also instrumental in financing and assisting H.E.M.P. Canada back when it was good (1992-94).

In December 1994 Chris pushed the envelope even further by selling high quality marijuana seeds out of his store. Illegal? Maybe. I certainly used to think so. But the police didn't complain. Earlier that year Chris had also opened the Marijuana History Museum.

In Spring 1995 he opened the Hemp Nation CafŽ, a refuge for the cannabis connoisseur with an all-cannabis (and a bit of caffeine) theme, tucked further inside the Fraser Mall.

As a political protest, Chris erected a six-foot high statue of a chicken with the label "Chicken Fantino" in the front window facing the busy King Street sidewalks. The Fantino the chicken stood in mockery of was the police chief of London, and police privately told neighbouring businesses that they would dearly like to rid themselves of this thorn in their side and get Chris Clay and The Great Canadian Hemporium on substantial criminal charges.

On the afternoon of May 7, Chris placed twenty Skunk #1 "clones" on display for sale, mentioning the event only to a few friends. The clones were two week old marijuana plants, measuring between two and three inches high, and they were being sold for $30 each.

"I thought they might charge me. I felt that it was a legal grey area because there is no THC or drug quality in the plant at that stage of maturity, and that we could challenge it in court. I had no idea they might take most of my store..."

That night, several armed city police and RCMP raided Chris and the Great Canadian Hemporium. They seized vast quantities of pipes, bongs, rolling papers, mushroom spores, and all his cannabis clones and seeds, including sterilized food seeds. Along with the $600 in cash in the till, a total of over $30,000 worth of inventory was carted off.

The police also raided Chris' home, which was trashed in the typical drug warrior fashion that so many of us living in this police state are familiar with. Two guests staying at the house were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana simply because they were there at the time, although no marijuana was found on them. A quarter-ounce (worth $60) was found in the home, but for all the police-inspired mayhem on his residence, nothing much else was found of police interest.

For daring to push the envelope, Chris has had his store pillaged for $30,000 worth of goods, his home trashed and his houseguests arrested, and he has been charged with all possible charges under Canadian law:

Possession of marijuana (NCA s3.1) Punishable by fine up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.

Cultivation of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking (NCA s6.2) Punishable by up to seven years in jail.

Trafficking in marijuana (NCA s4.3) Punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Selling Paraphernalia (Criminal Code s462.2) Punishable by fine up to $100,000 and up to six months in jail.

The police did not seize any books or printed matter, thanks to a court challenge by Umberto Iorfida that defeated the literature provision of section 462.2 last October. (This decision is being appealed to the Supreme Court by the ChrŽtien government, which wants to repeal this constitutional victory and ban all literature advocating legal marijuana).

If convicted on all four charges, pushing the legalization envelope could net Chris Clay up to seventeen years in jail and up to $101,000 in fines, which, if unpaid, result in further jail time ($30 of unpayable fine equals one day in jail). If convicted under section 462.2, all $30,000 in inventory may also be forfeit.

Chris was held overnight in jail on the night of his arrest. His bail conditions are stringent. His store is operating and is as popular as ever, but his case may be the greatest challenge before us all.

Chris has retained one of the nation's great criminal lawyers in the field of marijuana prohibition, Alan Young, Professor of Criminal Law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Mr. Young is & 's lawyer, and represented Shakedown Street (Kitchener) and 100% Hemp (Kingston) in successfully protecting their legalization stores from prosecution.

Mr. Young and Chris Clay are launching constitutional challenges to all four charges, but this will be extremely expensive and full of risks. There is no guarantee that a judge will listen to a constitutional challenge to any of these charges.

The last time I appealed to you for money, it was for Umberto Iorfida's costs in defeating section 462.2 of the criminal code, the vicious marijuana censorship law that, until Umberto's victory last October, had strangled the legalization movement for six years. I made an urgent appeal to you, our readers in the Canadian Cannabis Culture, in the January 1995 issue of the Marijuana & Hemp Magazine. I asked you for donations to cover the costs of his two and a half year court battle, pointing out that I, as publisher of this magazine, would match dollar for dollar all donations up to $2,500. (We also gave Umberto several hundred dollars at the time).

Appallingly, less than $100 was donated by all of you combined! That issue sold out, so several thousand people were aware of the urgent need for money for the NORML Canada constitutional challenge fund regarding section 462.2. I told you about all the hard work that had gone into the case, the years of frustration and labour by Umberto and lawyers Edward Morgan & Alan Young (who worked for free!). The money raised is just to pay for court documents, travel expenses, fees, copies, etc., and doesn't even reward the lawyers for their brilliant work.

And yet all our readers could muster was a grand total of under $100. This is less than two cents per reader! That's disgusting! That is an insult to all those on the battlefield, working years in the courts and on the ground.

These court battles are the most important action in the legalization movement right now. These are serious battles for liberty. Your Liberty!

Umberto sweated two and half years, ultimately striking a major blow to make all our lives easier and allowing us to enjoy a great big chunk of liberty. He was aided by two brilliant lawyers working for free, simply because they, too, believe in liberty.

The Chretien government wants to return to the Stalinist era and are challenging NORML Canada's victory at the Supreme Court. This vital defence to our newly gained freedom needs a great deal of money too, certainly more than the shocking pennies a few have donated so far! You may send cheques or money orders (make payable to NORML Canada In Trust) to: Edward Morgan, PO Box 63, #1 First Canadian Place, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1B1.

This exceptional challenge is also desperate for funding. I have pledged $1,000 (the minimum we contributed to any of the challenges listed above), and since ultimately a positive decision by this court could end marijuana criminalization possibly forever, money is desperately required! You may contribute to this fabulous opportunity for justice by sending a cheque or money order to: Vince Cain, In Trust of John Conroy - Attorney, Conroy, Hammond & Co., 2459 Pauline St., Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 3S1.

If you are Canadian and a cannabis consumer, you must contribute to at least one of these three campaigns. I will accept no excuses. I expect a contribution of at least $100 to any one of the above campaigns from every store in our hemp commercial directory, and I will be approaching all of them, demanding "where's the money?!" All of our subscribers, employees, and regular customers will be dunned for a contribution. If you are reading this magazine, you have a patriotic and moral duty (and an obvious vested self-interest) to contribute at least $25 to any one of the above three court battles.

Freedom for $25? It's the cheapest price you'll pay in this lifetime. Any one victory in these three courtroom battles will free us from shackles of brutal jail time, vicious censorship, and severe legislative bigotry.

The case will feature experts from around the world verifying the facts printed by Michka, and this is a great opportunity to defend Michka from financial ruin and finish off Gabriel Nahas, the Count Dracula of the Prohibitionists, whose lies and gross exaggerations about marijuana will be subject to close-up scrutiny before media and court.

Michka has received generous financial assistance from Ed Rosenthal, Ben Dronkers and Adrian Bronckhorst, but much more is required. You can contribute to Michka's battle by sending a cheque to: Dossier Vert, c/o Michka, 1 rue Petion, 75011 Paris, France. Money orders can be sent to: Societe Generale (30003), Paris Cheronne (03310), Account 5033 2709 (RIB 87).

Right now, there are constitutional challenges attacking:

• The government's censorship of the marijuana legalization movement. (Umberto Iorfida - NORML Canada)
  
• The criminalization of marijuana. (Vince Cain)
  
• The criminalization of paraphernalia , and possibly challenges to cultivation and sale of marijuana laws. (Chris Clay - Hemporium)
  

We have only a few heroes in this country, and their names are Umberto Iorfida, Edward Morgan, Chris Clay, Alan Young, Vince Cain, John Conroy. We have over a million potential beneficiaries, you and I are at the front of the line to cash in on that rich bounty of freedom. The price you must pay is small, but you must give now, and give generously.